Central Bank assumes
growth of 1.7 per cent
WILLEMSTAD--The economic prospects for 2007 are favourable, announced President of the Antillean Central Bank Emsley Tromp during the presentation of the 2006 annual report.
Several current and immediately pending projects, especially in the tourism sector, will contribute to further growth of the investments.
Last year, despite the strong increase in spending in the private sector, the economy of the Netherlands Antilles grew at the same pace as in 2005; the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was 1.5 per cent in both years. Tromp assumes an even higher economic growth of 1.7 per cent in 2007.
"We can maximize the advantages for our economy as a result of the positive effect of these projects on employment by timely training of people who are looking for a job. This way, the unemployment percentage can be lowered," said Tromp.
The economic recovery which started in 2001 can finally be seen in an improvement of the labour market. The average unemployment percentage of the Netherlands Antilles dropped from 16.2 per cent in 2005 to 13.2 in 2006. This played a role in the improvement, especially in Curaçao.
After the peak of 3.8 per cent in 2005, inflation dropped to 2.9 per cent in 2006. The delay in the inflation tempo is primarily attributed to the stabilisation of the oil prices on the world market.
For the time being, the Central Bank assumes a lower inflation of 2.5 per cent for 2007.
