North Holland is the only Dutch province with more jobs at the end of 2014 compared to 2010, according to the Dutch Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), which is tracking job market recovery levels in the Netherlands after the economic recession.

The increase in jobs is mainly due to a very strong job market in 2014. All other Dutch provinces saw a decline in the number of jobs during the same period. North Holland, with Amsterdam as capital, saw a net increase of about 19.000 jobs over four years.

More than 150.000 Dutch jobs disappeared since 2010

Between December 2010 and December 2014, the Netherlands was suffering from the economic recession and lost a total of almost 153.000 jobs.

The province of South Holland, where Rotterdam is the largest city, saw the most significant decline in absolute numbers with a loss of more than 63.000 jobs. 2015 is generally considered to be the start of the economic recovery on a global level.

Relatively speaking, in terms of job market development, Friesland had the poorest performing job market during this period, according to the December 8 report by the CBS. In the four-year period, the number of jobs decreased by 6,5 percent. The second-worst performer was Flevoland, with a drop of 5,8 percent.

In North Holland, the segments that grew over the past four years are horeca (hotels, restaurants and cafes), information and communication, specialised business services, rental and other business services and trade.

Increase and decrease in jobs per province, between December 2010 and December 2014.
Image source: CBS

A year of economic growth

2014 was a good year for the Netherlands in terms of job numbers, with the exception of Friesland. In the province of North Holland the job market grew by 1,3 percent and in Flevoland by 1,5 percent.

In North Holland this translated to almost 19.000 new jobs, while in Flevoland it amounted to almost 2.200 new jobs.

The job numbers by province

The change in job numbers by province over the 2010-2014 period:
› Groningen: -9.887
› Friesland: -16.860
› Drenthe: -1.501
› Overijssel: -8.543
› Flevoland: -8.910
› Gelderland: -25.799
› Utrecht: -5.631
› North Holland: 18.988
› South Holland: -63.155
› Zeeland: -6.187
› Noord-Brabant: -24.645
› Limburg: -11.454

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