Dutch employers facing the tightest labor market in recorded history

For the first time since the benefits agency UWV started keeping track of the tension in the labor market, the Dutch labor market is classified as “very tight.” There are now staff shortages in almost all professions. And in the number of vacancies climbed 80 percent while unemployment benefits fell 41 percent in one year, the benefits agency said on Wednesday.

The tension in the labor market has risen sharply since the start of 2021 when the labor market recovered from the coronavirus period. The number of vacancies increased, and many job seekers found work. The labor market reached the “tight” indication for the first time in mid-2021. That record was broken every quarter that followed, reaching “very tight” in the first quarter of 2022.

A “very tight” labor market means that there are now more vacancies than job seekers who can fill them. Compared to the first quarter of 2021, the number of vacancies increased by 80 percent, and the number of unemployment benefits decreased by 41 percent.

Nineteen of the 35 Dutch regions had a very tight labor market in the first quarter. The staff shortages are the biggest in the Midden-Utrecht region, followed by Zuidoost-Brabant, and Foodvalley.

Only four of the 92 occupational groups classified with the UWV do not have significant staff shortages. A year ago, there were only 49 occupational groups facing staff shortages and even staff surpluses in 12 professional groups.