7% of children in Netherlands will live in poverty next year without intervention
Poverty will increase sharply if the government does not announce any measures on Budget Day to help struggling households pay their bills.
According to the Central Planning Office (CPB), about 5.7 percent of the total population and 7 percent of children will end up in poverty next year without additional policy.
“Poverty will also continue to rise slightly in the medium term,” said the planning office in its politically important economic forecast. “Structural policy is needed to combat this.”
Purchasing power will decline a bit further in 2023 by 1.2 percent. But in 2024, households will have more to spend, the CPB expects. According to the planning office, purchasing power will grow by 1.9 percent next year.
The CPB expects the economy to grow by 0.7 percent in 2023, although growth will increase again in 2024 to 1.4 percent. Statistics Netherlands reported on Wednesday that the Netherlands has entered a slight recession. Although growth is falling, the Dutch economy has shown its “resilience” in recent years, absorbing several major shocks well. Labor shortages in many sectors prevented mass layoffs. “This economic cooling ensures that the tightness on the labor market and the high inflation decrease somewhat,” the CPB said.
The economic forecast is important for the government because it forms the basis for the negotiations on next year’s budgets. These talks will start next week.
Comments (1)
If poverty increases in the coming years, more and more people will require assistance to buy food, the Dutch Red Cross warned. "We are deeply concerned. People can't cut back on rent and energy, so food becomes the expense that is compromised. This means even more children will go to school on an empty stomach," the Red Cross remarked.
https://nltimes.nl/2023/08/17/people-wont-able-afford-food-due-rising-poverty-red-cross