Already more bankruptcies than all of last year, especially in trade and construction

In November this year, 341 companies went bankrupt. That was 19 more than in October, according to figures from Statistics Netherlands. In the first 11 months of 2024 there were about a third more bankruptcies than in the same period of 2023.

The total of companies that have gone under so far this year is 3,851. This means that the number of bankruptcies, with one month to go, is already well above the number of last year. In 2023, 3,272 were eventually forced to close their doors.

The number of bankruptcies has been fluctuating around 350 per month all year long. There were also approximately the same number of bankruptcies every month in 2023, but at that time the number was around 270.

The number of bankruptcies has been high for some time, particularly in trade and construction. In November, 66 trading companies and 63 construction companies went bankrupt.

The relatively high number of bankruptcies is partly due to corona debts. During the pandemic, entrepreneurs were allowed to choose to pay their taxes later, but the tax authorities started recovering the taxes at the end of 2022.

Increased wages and expensive raw materials also play a role. In addition, the interest rate is still on the high side, which increases the costs for new loans for entrepreneurs.