Table Main Economic Indicators 2017-2020

These projections are the Cabinet’s starting point for the concluding decision-making process about the draft budget 2020, including next year’s purchasing power. On Prinsjesdag (the day of the King's Speech in which the main features of government policy for the coming parliamentary session are announced; this year on 17 September), CPB’s Macro Economic Outlook 2020 (MEV) will be published, including an explanation of the projections and a detailed analysis of the Dutch economic situation.

CPB’s Director, Laura van Geest, states: ‘The economic turning point is behind us. The pace is slowing down. Unemployment will remain low, but employment growth will level off, substantially — in particular in the market sector. The Dutch economy is driven predominately by domestic spending, exports are affected by the fall out from developments in other countries.”

The labour market is projected to remain tight. The slowdown in production growth will first become apparent from the lower increase in labour productivity. In 2020, employment growth will decline under a continuing increase in labour supply. This will end the decrease in unemployment.

The substantial downward economic risks have increased further. US trade policy and the responses to this policy, the growing possibility of a chaotic Brexit, and the political developments in Italy are all significant threats to the Dutch economy.

The way the detailed figures on purchasing power are presented has changed. These August Projections for the year 2019 are presented in both the old and the new way (see downloads below).