More jobs for temps
As from the first quarter of 2004, the number of hours worked by temporary employment agency workers has increased almost every quarter compared to the previous quarter. In the third quarter of 2005 the number of hours worked by temporary and seconded staff was 12 percent up on the same period in 2004 and 15 percent up on the third quarter of 2003.
Hours worked by temp agency staff
250 thousand fulltime jobs
Converted to fulltime equivalents, there were over 250 thousand unfilled jobs in the temp agency sector in 2004, i.e. 4.5 percent of the total number of jobs available in the Netherlands. The Dutch labour market as a whole was positively affected by the increase in the temp agency sector. Corrected for seasonal effects, the number of jobs held by employees in the third quarter of 2005 rose by 7 thousand, compared to the preceding quarter.
More hours worked by temp staff on a regular basis
Initially, only the number of hours worked by temp staff employed on a contract basis (stage A) rose. In the third quarter of 2005, the number of hours worked on a contract basis was 15 percent above the level of the same quarter in 2004. During stage A, it is easier for both parties to terminate employment than during stages B and C. Currently, there is also an notable increase in the number of stage B and C hours. In the third quarter of 2005, hours worked in stage B and C were approximately 8 percent above the level of last year’s third quarter. This results in an increase in the number of hours worked by people employed by temp agencies on a regular basis.
Hours worked by temp agency staff by stage
Turnover tops peak year 2001
The increase in the number of hours worked by temps also affected turnover in the sector which showed an almost uninterrupted upward trend in the second quarter of 2004. Turnover in the temp agency sector was 13 percent higher in the third quarter of 2005 than in the same period in 2004. There is also a noticeable turnover increase of nearly 5 percent in the second and third quarters of 2005, compared to the same quarters in peak year 2001.
Turnover compared to the previous period (seasonally corrected)
Roos Schellings