Figures recently released from the Dutch Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) show that, despite uneven distribution, job vacancies in the Netherlands are up.

The CBS reported 136.000 unfilled job vacancies in the second quarter of this year, 40.000 more than the same period in 2013, when the Dutch jobs market hit a crisis-induced lowpoint.

Noord-Holland large jobs contributor

The largest increase in vacancies was seen in Noord-Holland, Zuid-Holland and Noord-Brabant which contributed a combined total of around 75.000 available jobs.

Last year, figures revealed that the nationwide average ratio of job vacancies to job hunters was one to six. The provinces of Noord-Holland and Utrecht showed one vacancy for every four or five unemployed, while Friesland, Groningen and Flevoland had a ratio of one for every ten. 

Declining employment rate

Simultaneously, the employment rate has declined in all provinces since the start of the crisis in 2008, most noticably in Flevoland, where the percentage of inhabitants in paid work (aged from 15 to 75) dropped from 71 to 65 per cent between 2008 and 2014.

Last year, the municipalities with the lowest employment rates were to be found in Groningen and Limburg. The town of Vaals had the lowest employment rate with 52,2 per cent, while Kerkrade and Bellingwedde stood at 57 per cent. 

The employment rate in Rotterdam, at 58 per cent, is also surprisingly low, despite it forming part of the Zuid-Holland province.

Uneven unemployment across the Netherlands

On average, 7,4 per cent of the population in the Netherlands was unemployed last year. The proportion was considerably higher in Flevoland with 9,3 per cent, and much lower in Zeeland at 5,5 per cent.

CBS also revealed that short-term unemployment decreased in the second quarter of 2015, compared to the same time last year: 322.000 people were without work for less than a year - 81.000 less than in 2014. However, long-term unemployment continued to increase.