The entrepreneurs confidence has slightly declined for the first time in over a year, landing at -5.4 in the first quarter of 2025. The sentiment worsened particularly in the extraction of raw materials and the transport and storage sector. Additionally, fewer entrepreneurs than last year expect to have achieved a positive business result for 2024 (69 percent), while the investment expectations for 2025 are somewhat more positive. This is reported by CBS, KVK, the Economic Institute for the Building (EIB), MKB-Nederland, and VNO-NCW based on the Economic Survey of the Netherlands conducted in January.

From late 2021 to late 2022, entrepreneurs confidence declined sharply to -22.2. After that, the figure cautiously recovered and confidence became less negative. In the first quarter of 2025, confidence has slightly declined again. Entrepreneurs confidence has been negative for the thirteenth consecutive quarter and is currently below the average (-3.6) of the series since 2012.

Only Business Services Positive

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