Tightness on labor market: 126 vacancies per 100 unemployed

The labor shortage in the Netherlands is reaching new records. At the end of September, there were 126 vacancies for every 100 unemployed persons, Statistics Netherlands reported.

At the end of the third quarter, there were 371,000 open vacancies in the Netherlands, 45,000 more than at the end of June. It was the second quarter in a row that there were more vacancies than unemployed.

At the same time, unemployment has been falling steadily for this past year. In the third quarter, 294,000 people, or 3.1 percent of the workforce, were unemployed. This means they had no paid work, were actively searching for a job, and were available to start immediately.

Relatively speaking, the demand for staff is greatest in the hospitality industry. At the end of September, there were 83 vacancies per 1,000 employees in this sector. In absolute numbers, staff shortages are greatest in the trade, business services, and healthcare sectors. Together, these sectors account for half of all unfilled vacancies.

The number of vacancies filled or scrapped also reached a new record at 330,000 in the third quarter, 38,000 more than in the second quarter.