According to De Jong, consumer confidence fell sharply last year, fully in line with the sharp rise in inflation, but that confidence has since recovered. That process now seems to have come to an end, thinks De Jong. “Now he’s disturbed.”
Deteriorating economy
Was it predictable? De Jong thinks so given the deterioration he sees across the economic line: “significantly negative” industrial production, investments in fixed assets that are also negative, economic contraction in the first quarter, companies that in surveys indicate that things are not going well with order taking and faltering exports. ‘Our economy is deteriorating across the board.’
Our economy is deteriorating across the board
Tight labor market, but without tools
Perhaps the only bright spot is that the job market is so tight. This could lead to a short and mild recession. Otherwise, there is little to cheer about, not least because the government has few tools to effectively fight a recession. De Jong hints at the difference between the past and the current situation: back then, politicians had room to stimulate with cuts in interest rates and public spending, but that set of tools is gone.