Dutch labor market remains tense: Vacancies decreasing, but also available workers

The number of job vacancies in the Netherlands fell by 7,000 in the second quarter, while the number of unemployed people decreased by 4,000. As a result, the labor market tightness remained virtually unchanged, according to Statistics Netherlands (CBS). There were 101 open vacancies for every 100 unemployed individuals.

CBS reports that the number of vacancies has been declining almost every quarter for the past three years, mainly due to fewer new openings. In the past period, 347,000 new vacancies were recorded, 19,000 fewer than in the previous quarter.

At the end of the second quarter, there were a total of 389,000 open vacancies. Demand was highest in business services, healthcare, and trade sectors that together accounted for more than half of all vacancies.

The sharpest decline was seen in the hospitality sector, where the number of open positions dropped by 3,000 to 26,000. In contrast, healthcare saw an increase of about 1,000, with 68,000 vacancies open at the end of the second quarter.