Dutch economy shrinks 1.1 pct in Q3

The Dutch economy shrank by 1.1 percent in the third quarter compared with the previous quarter, the Dutch Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) said Thursday. Year on year, the country's national economic output in the July-September period contracted by 1.6 percent, the CBS statistics showed. Household consumption and investment declined, while exports grew less than in previous quarters, according to the CBS. Exports of goods and services rose by only 1.6 percent year on year, down from 4.4 percent in the second quarter. The household consumption went down for the sixth time in a row, by 1.8 percent compared to a year earlier. Consumption by the public increased slightly by 0.2 percent, mainly due to a further increase in healthcare expenditures. Investment in fixed assets was 6.4 percent lower than a year earlier. The CBS reported lower investment in houses, buildings, earthworks, civil engineering works, vehicles, cars and also in machinery and equipment. Poor figures were also observed in employment. The country's unemployment rate rose to 6.8 percent in October from 6.6 percent in the previous month.