The Dutch economy has been in recession since mid 2012, but growth is projected to pick up by the end of 2013, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) stated in its economic outlook 2013 on Wednesday.

OECD expects the Dutch economy to shrink by 0.9 percent in 2013. The economic outlook is less positive than earlier outlooks from the Dutch Central Bureau for Statistics and the International Monetary Fund, which forecast the Dutch economy to contract by 0.5 per cent in 2013.

According to the OECD, exports and a gradual improvement in business investment will be the main drivers of the Dutch recovery by the end of 2013. However, ongoing fiscal consolidation and household deleveraging will hold back activities and growth will be too weak to prevent a further rise in the unemployment rate.

The OECD sees major risks related to the Dutch housing market. A further decline in housing prices, along with rising unemployment, could hold consumers from spending. In addition, banks can get in trouble when homeowners fail to pay back mortgages.

The economic outlook is the OECD's twice-yearly analysis of the major economic trends and prospects for the next two years.