Dutch Slump Woes Haunt Rutte as Deficit Breach Persists

Record unemployment in the Netherlands is compounding Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s dilemma on how far to push austerity measures needed to curb the country’s deficit.

Consumer confidence, which improved by six points to minus 35 in April, has not been positive since 2007, the national statistics agency CBS said today. That follows data yesterday showing the jobless rate reached an 18-year high of 8.1 percent in March, with 643,000 people out of work. Reports on house prices, consumer spending and manufacturers’ confidence next week will confirm just how far the slump has damaged sentiment in the euro-area’s fifth largest economy.