In the first quarter of this year, the Dutch economy grew by 0.9 percent over the last quarter of 2010, the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) stated on Friday, based on preliminary figures.
In comparison to the same period last year, the gross domestic product increased by 3.2 percent in the first quarter of the year. This is the biggest growth in three years time.
In the last quarter of last year, the economy increased by 0.6 percent in comparison to the previous quarter of a year.
In the first quarter of 2011, there were 41,000 more jobs than one year earlier, but this was still slightly lower than the previous period.
Although exports grew over a year time, it was halved compared with the growth in previous quarters. This is mainly due to a decrease in re-exports, CBS says. The volume of exports was 5.7 percent higher on a year basis.
Household consumption went up 0.2 percent compared to last year. Above all, more people bought new cars and often went to a restaurant or cafe. Gas consumption decreased, thanks to the mild winter at the beginning of this year./.