Reluctant job growth

In the first quarter of 2011, the number of jobs of employees was 41 thousand higher than in the same quarter of 2010. After eighteen months of decline, employment was higher than in the same quarter one year previously for the second consecutive time.

Employment is subject to seasonal variation. After adjusting for seasonal effects, the number of jobs in the first quarter was 0.2 percent lower than in the fourth quarter of 2010. In preceding three quarters, quarter-on-quarter employment had been growing.

Altogether (full-time plus part-time jobs), there were nearly 7.8 million employee jobs in the Netherlands. Converted to full-time equivalents, there were 5.8 million jobs in the first quarter, an increase by 0.3 percent from one year ago.

Growth rate jobs and economic growth