FOCUS: The first half of 1999
The volume of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increased by
3.2% in the second quarter of 1999 on the same quarter in 1998. This brings the growth
rate for the first half of this year to 3.1%. This is only 0.2 percentage points less than
the growth rate for the second half of 1998. The GDP equals the sum of the value added of
the goods and services produced in the Netherlands. Business services contributed most to
GDP growth. This category has the biggest share in GDP and the volume of value added
increased by 4.0% in the first half of 1999. The production within mail services and
telecommunications increased substantially. The production increase in non-commercial
services (1.7%) and in the production of goods (1.6%) lagged behind the growth rate of
commercial services, but it is still relatively high when we see it in its historical
context. The growth rate of the production of goods showed a substantial dip since the
middle of 1998, mainly due to a stagnating industrial production.
Domestic consumer expenditure by households was up 4.0% in
the first six months of 1999 compared to the same period in 1998. The 1999 growth rates
stay relatively high, although it is down slightly on the third and fourth quarter of
1998. Durable consumer goods are still very popular (+8.9%), while expenditure on the
category other goods and services is stable. Expenditure on food, beverages and tobacco
clearly lag behind, thus continuing the trend shown ever since the second quarter of 1996.
In the long-term perspective the share of food, beverages and tobacco is also diminishing.
In 1960 this category had a 37% share in consumption expenditure. In 1998 this was down to
less than 14%. The share of durable consumer goods likewise fell from 28 to less than 19%.
This change in the consumption pattern can be attributed to the higher incomes that came
about in recent decades. The households spent this higher income – when it was spent
on consumption – mainly on services and other goods.
Inflation is defined as the percentage change in the
consumer price index. For the first half of 1999 it came to 2.2%. This is the same as the
devaluation rate of the currency of the same period last year. However it means a 0.4%
rise compared to the second half of 1998. The development of the total price index figure
covers up the differences between groups of articles. Both the height and the fluctuation
differ where prices are concerned. There is a rather steady price development in the
categories food, recreation and culture, whereas it may fluctuate substantially for other
categories. The biggest price rise in the first half of 1999 was in the categories
housing, water, electricity and gas, compared to the first half of 1998. The prices in
this category had already gone up substantially in 1998 as well.
Soft furnishings and household appliances became 2.6% more expensive in the first half of
1999, more than twice as much as the increase for the first half of 1998. On the other
hand, clothes and shoe prices did not go up as much as they did in the first six months of
1998. The category transport became more expensive after prices had come down in the
second half of 1998. Here the oil prices and excise duties played a major role.
Registered unemployment fell even further in the first half
of 1999. The figure for the second quarter averages 216 thousand, the lowest figure since
July 1980. The unemployment rate has been falling ever since 1995, with peaks in 1997 and
the first half of 1998. The decrease this year is not as substantial as it was in these
peak periods. Unemployment is currently falling at a rate of 5 thousand a month. The
registered unemployed include an almost equal number of women and men. Of the 216 people
registered as unemployed in the second quarter there were 112 thousand men and 104
thousand women. This means that 2.7% of the male labour force and 3.8% of the female
labour force are currently registered as unemployed. In the nineties the fluctuation has
been between 1.1 and 1.9 percentage points.
Dutch Economic Indicators is published by the Sector
Integrated Short Term and Regional Statistics,
E-mail: infopcr@cbs.nl.
Last update:August 23, 1999
© Statistics Netherlands, Voorburg/Heerlen, 1999
Information may be quoted provided the source is stated accurately and clearly.
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Update: 07-09-1999