Job vacancies in NL to decrease from next year: Benefits agency

The number of job vacancies will continue to rise this year but decrease again in 2023, benefits agency UWV predicted in its labor market forecast. The number of jobs will also increase, as well as the number of hours worked. In these cases, growth will continue both this year and next, although it will level off.

The labor market took some blows during the coronavirus crisis but recovered quickly afterward. The fact that this recovery is not continuing at the same pace is due to the new economic uncertainty caused by the war in Ukraine.

The economy shrank by 3.8 percent in 2020, but the number of jobs fell by only 0.3 percent. The number of hours worked decreased more rapidly. In 2021, the economy recovered, and the number of jobs again exceeded the 2020 level. The number of hours worked still lagged behind. Despite the increase expected in the coming years, the UWV does not expect the number of hours per job to exceed pre-coronavirus levels in 2023.

The main reason is the fact that self-employed work fewer hours. The number of self-employed jobs rose sharply in 2020, but the total number of hours barely increased. As a result, the average number of hours that a self-employed person worked fell sharply. 

The number of jobs is increasing in most sectors. The UWV sees a strong increase in the temporary employment sector and the catering industry in particular. The UWV expects fewer jobs in the retail sector, car sales, and industry. The latter sector is very sensitive to the movements of the economy and international developments.