More jobs

In the first quarter of 2006 the number of jobs was up by 0.5 percent on the previous quarter. The number of jobs, adjusted for seasonal effects, increased for the fourth quarter in a row. The growth rate for jobs was 0.2 percent in the preceding quarters, so the growth rate accelerated in the first quarter.

In the first quarter of 2006 there were 77 thousand more jobs than the year before. The number of male employees increased by 27 thousand. For the first time in four years there are more men in jobs than the year before. The number of female employees increased by 50 thousand over the previous twelve months. Women performed better than men over the last few years due to their increasing participation in the work process.

Most of the growth took place in business services. The economic recovery leads to many extra jobs, which many employers fill with staff from temp agencies. But also other business services, such as ICT are employing more people. Furthermore care remains the main jobs motor.

The labour costs per fte were up by 1.0 percent in the first quarter than in the same quarter of 2005. This makes the rise in labour costs the lowest since 1996. The collective (CAO) wages in the first quarter increased to 1.8 percent. The cause of these different developments lies in the decrease of the social security premiums payable by the employer. Employers paid less for (pre)pension and disablement provisions.

Growth rate jobs and economic growth