Number of job vacancies still high

• 252 thousand jobs vacant
• Nearly as many vacancies as twelve months ago
• Vacancy rate remains high
• Labour market still very dynamic

The number of job vacancies remained high in the Netherlands in the third quarter of 2008. After correction for seasonal effects, 252 thousand jobs were vacant. This is 12 thousand more than in the previous quarter. The increase is mainly the result of the fact that vacancies at the Ministry of Defence have been included in the figures for the first time. Because of the high number of job vacancies, the vacancy rate also remains high. New figures form Statistics Netherlands also show that the labour market is still very dynamic.

The number of job vacancies peaked at the end of September 2007, at 253 thousand. Now, one year later, the number of vacancies is nearly just as high.

At the end of September 2008, 30 jobs per thousand were vacant. This, too, is at the same level as twelve months ago. The vacancy rate, a measure for tension between labour supply and demand, thus remains high. The demand for labour was, as is often the case, strongest in the construction sector and the hotel and restaurant sector. Here 42 and 41 jobs respectively per thousand were vacant. The rate is lower than twelve months ago in both sectors, however.

The numbers of positions falling vacant and vacancies being filled show that the labour market remains very dynamic. In the third quarter of 2008, 263 thousand jobs became available, 9 thousand fewer than last year. The number of vacancies filled was 4 thousand higher than twelve months previously, at 289 thousand.