Growth has picked up

Social indicators are relatively good overall

Labour productivity is flat

Confidence and the housing market have recovered

Trade surplus is sizeable and rising

Net saving position of sectors has been rising or remained high

Labour market is recovering

Potential macro-financial vulnerabilities are low and have diminished significantly since 2007

Vulnerability indicators and economic growth

Sizeable fiscal consolidation and the economic recovery have improved public finances

Asylum requests surged in 2015

Simulations point to further reduction in public debt

Self-employment is affecting employment and incomes

Tax and benefit system favours self-employed over employees, raising self-employment

Investment developments have been uneven

Gap between non-residential investment needs and actual investment is substantial

Support for business R&D is skewed towards tax incentives

Bank lending constraints for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) remain high

Small bank loans are relatively expensive

Literacy skills of immigrants, less educated and the old lag behind other groups and peers

Changing demand for skills has led to a polarisation in job tasks

Large gap exists between skill use and proficiency in the Netherlands

Temporary employment is common in the Netherlands

Few temporary workers move to permanent full-time jobs

Informal on-the-job learning is dominant after the age of 25

Skills of young NEETs are responsive to training

Natives have stronger information-processing skills than foreign-born adults

Gap between native and second-generation immigrant students is important

Employment and participation rates of foreign-born are relatively low