AMSTERDAM, Dec 1 (Reuters) - The Dutch NEVI/DPA Purchasing
Managers' Index plunged to a record low in November, signalling
a sharp deterioration in Dutch manufacturing industry.
The PMI fell to 38.7 from 45.3 in October and has been below
the neutral mark of 50 that separates growth from contraction
for five consecutive months.
The Dutch economy, which accounts for about six percent of
euro zone Gross Domestic Product, is on the edge of a recession
after stagnating in the second and third quarters.
Indicators for new orders and employment touched record
lows, supporting the expectation that the Dutch unemployment
rate, at 2.5 percent in September as measured by Eurostat and
far below the 7.5 percent euro zone average, is set to rise.
"Anecdotal evidence suggested that Dutch manufacturers were
being hit hard by the crisis in the world automobile and
transport equipment sectors, especially with regard to exports,"
Markit Economics, which compiles the monthly survey, said in a
statement.
Backlogs fell at the fastest pace since data on these were
first collected in October 2002, and manufacturing production
declined at the fastest rate since the immediate aftermath of
the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the data showed.
A number of major Dutch companies have slashed jobs, most
recently Philips , which will lay off 5 percent of the
workforce at its healthcare division as part of an accelerated
cost-savings push sparked by the global economic slowdown.
The Dutch temporary staffing market, an early indicator of
trouble on the labour front due to the high degree of
flexibility it gives companies, has been contracting since June,
with year-on-year declines accelerating to 6 percent in October,
according to industry association ABU.
"On the prices front, November data indicated that the
combination of weak demand, the global economic downturn and the
unwinding of world commodity prices was exerting downwards
pressure on both purchasing costs and factory gate prices,"
Markit Economics said.
(Reporting by Niclas Mika; editing by Stephen Nisbet)
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