Over 10,000 people with disabilities land new jobs

A total of 10,732 jobs were created for people with disabilities at the end of 2014 - 9,224 in the private sector and 1,508 in the public sector.

This is according to the initial figures on the jobs agreement, State Secretary Jetta Klijnsma of Social Affairs and Employment wrote in a letter to the Tweede Kamer, lower house of parliament, on Friday.

The Law jobs agreement states that the private sector has to create 6,000 additional jobs for people with disabilities by the end of 2015, compared to the base line per January 1st, 2013. Employers in the public sector has to create 3 thousand extra jobs for this target group by the end of this year. Employers in the private sector are running well ahead of schedule.

The Cabinet and social partners have agreed to create a total of 100 thousand additional jobs for people unable to earn the legal minimum wage due to a disability by 2026. In addition to that, the government as an employer will also create 25 thousand new jobs for this group by 2025.

The Participation Act, which took effect on January 1st this year, offers a number of supporting measures, such as wage subsidies, job coaches and adjustments in the workplace, to make reaching this goal possible.

"We are not there yet, but this is a very encouraging start", Klijnsma said in response to the figures. "I am counting on a good follow-up. This is also necessary because it is high time that people with disabilities get a fair chance to participate fully in the labor market.