Economy grows by 0.6 percent in the second quarter of 2026

Statistics Netherlands (CBS, the national statistical office) says that the Dutch economy grew by 0.6 percent in the second quarter of 2026. This is more than initially estimated, as the growth rate in the first calculation was 0.4 percent. They make this second calculation 85 days after the end of the quarter because they then have more information.

The economy is growing mainly because people are spending more money and because exports of services have increased. The government has also increased its spending. Growth was mainly driven by household spending, the difference between exports and imports, and government spending.

Statistics Netherlands sometimes adjusts its economic figures when new information becomes available. For example, the growth figure for the fourth quarter of 2025 was slightly increased, from 0.4 to 0.5 percent. Growth in the first quarter of 2026 remained unchanged at 0.3 percent.

Looking at the one-year period, the economy grew by 1.6 percent in the first quarter of 2026 compared with the first quarter of 2025. This figure is also higher than initially estimated. This is mainly due to higher exports and increased consumer spending.

The number of jobs increased by 15,000 in the second quarter of 2026. These include jobs for both employees and self-employed people. In the first calculation, they had estimated that the number of jobs had actually fallen by 8,000.

Compared with the second quarter of 2025, there are now 6,000 more jobs. They had initially estimated that there were 25,000 fewer jobs. The figures are provisional and may be adjusted later if new information becomes available.