The latest forecasts presented by the Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis (CPB) suggest that the prospects for the Dutch economy have improved slightly. While the situation is still serious, there are some bright spots compared with two months ago.

Unemployment in 2010 is now expected to be less than predicted in June. In June the CPB was talking about a probable 730,000 unemployed next year (9.2. percent of the working population) but this has been revised downward to 615,000 (8 percent). It is still, however, a significant increase on this year.
 

The budget deficit is also expected to be slightly less this year than previously predicted: 4.0 percent of GNP rather than 4.1 percent. For 2010, the CPB is now expecting zero growth as opposed to a downturn of 0.5 percent.
 

The CPB figures provide the basis for the cabinet discussions about next year's budget which start this week. Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende and most of the cabinet met today for the first time since the summer recess.
 

Finance Minister Wouter Bos warned against too much optimism: "The situation is still dreadful, just slightly less dreadful. We mustn't pretend there is no problem. More than 600,000 people unemployed is a tragedy for a large number of families." Social Affairs Minister Piet Hein Donner commented: "A transition from free fall to a braking fall doesn't mean we can afford to relax."