The number of open job vacancies in the Netherlands has reached a new high in the second quarter of 2018, so says Statistics Netherlands (CBS).

More job openings than ever

The number of job openings has been growing steadily for the past five years, reaching an all-time high with an increase of 16.000 in the second quarter, breaking the record of 2007. In 2007, there were 249.000 open vacancies, whilst at the end of June 2018, there were 251.000 job openings. The last low point was in 2013 with 91.000 open vacancies.

Trade sector sees most open vacancies

Almost all sectors have seen an increase in job openings in the second quarter. The trade sector experienced a rise of 4.000 job vacancies, whilst the hotel and catering industry saw an increase of 3.000 job openings. The business services, industry and education sectors grew by 2.000 open vacancies each. The only sector to register a small loss was the financial services sector.

Tension in the Dutch job market

Tension in the labour market has also increased in the second quarter; demand for employment is above average and the supply is limited. Because of this tension, more people have been offered a permanent employment contract. In fact, Statistics Netherlands (CBS) states that the number of people with a permanent contract has been rising faster than the number of people with a temporary one.

Unemployment rate decreasing

In the second quarter of 2018, 354.000 people were unemployed in the Netherlands. Compared to the first quarter, this is a decrease of 14.000. However, the increase in the number of vacancies is not accompanied by an equally rapid fall of the unemployment rate, since the people who have stopped looking for a job are now trying to find one again. Therefore, they are included in the unemployment statistics again.