Fewer jobs lost

The number of jobs of employees was 147 thousand lower in the fourth quarter of 2009 than one year previously, a decrease by 1.8 percent. In the third quarter of last year, 139 thousand jobs were lost compared to the same period in 2008.

The most substantial drop occurred in business services. In this branch, the number of jobs was over 100 thousand down on one year previously. Temp agencies took the hardest blow. Other parts of the private sector, such as manufacturing industry, construction, hotels and restaurants and transport, also faced sustained loss of jobs. In the public sector, on the other hand, the number of jobs increased, especially in the health care sector.

The total number of jobs of employees in the Netherlands, full-time as well as part-time, amounted to nearly 7.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2009, the equivalent of  5.9 million full-time jobs. This means that 114 thousand were lost relative to the fourth quarter of 2008.

Employment is subject to seasonal variation. After adjustment for these effects, the number of jobs in the fourth quarter was 0.2 percent down on the third quarter. Employment fell for the fourth quarter in a row, but the reduction was smaller than in the first three quarters of 2009.

In the fourth quarter of 2009, wages and salaries of employees per labour year were 1.8 percent up on one year previously. The wage increase was the same as the increase in the third quarter. With 1.9 percent, annual labour costs, including employers’ contributions, rose slightly more than wages.

Growth rate jobs and economic growth