Number of jobs declining further

In the third quarter of 2012, 75 thousand jobs of employees were lost relative to the third quarter of 2011. This is a decline of 0.9 percent. In the first two quarters of 2012, the number of jobs was also down on a year ago, but less so than in the third quarter.

Growth rate of jobs and economic growth

There were fewer jobs in nearly all sectors than one year previously. The most substantial drop was recorded in the construction sector, in which 17 thousand jobs were lost. Employment was also down considerably in business services, public administration, financial services and education. Health care was one of the few sectors in which the number of jobs was up on the third quarter of 2011.

Altogether there were over 7.8 million employee jobs in the Netherlands. These include both full-time and part-time jobs. Converted to full-time equivalents, there were nearly 5.9 million jobs in the third quarter, down 1.1 percent on the third quarter of 2011.

If seasonal effects are taken into account, the number of jobs in the third quarter was down 21 thousand on the second quarter of 2012.

Jobs of employees, seasonally adjusted

More figures can be found in dossier Business cycle.

For more information on economic indicators, the reader is referred to the Economic Monitor.