THE HAGUE—Dutch companies are more pessimistic about the economy than last year. The Chamber of Commerce asked four thousand entrepreneurs for their views in a nationwide survey held jointly with Statistics Netherlands and employers' organisation VNO-NCW.

The survey figures show that a quarter of the employers polled say that they assume their turnover in the first quarter to have shrunk. A third have received fewer orders, and a fifth have had to discharge temporary staff. Only 4 percent scrapped permanent positions.

Towards the end of 2004 the crisis mainly hit industry and the transport sector, but it is now being felt in all sectors of the economy.

The number of bankruptcies in the first two months of the current year was 57 up on last year's figures.

Radio Netherlands/Expatica