Number of vacancies no longer increasing

According to the latest figures by Statistics Netherlands the number of unfilled vacancies did not increase any further in the second quarter of 2005. On 30 June 2005 the seasonally corrected figure for unfilled vacancies was 137 thousand. This is 4 thousand less than in the quarter before. In the previous six quarters, the number of vacancies kept increasing.

Fewer vacancies in business services

The number of unfilled vacancies in business services fell by 5 thousand to 80 thousand in the second quarter of 2005 compared to the first quarter. In the other sectors the number of vacancies hardly changed.

More dynamic job market

For the fifth quarter in a row, the job market is more dynamic than the year before, as is shown by the increases of new and filled vacancies. In the second quarter of 2005 there were 212 thousand new vacancies. This is 9 thousand more than the year before. This year-on-year increase is, however, much smaller than in the preceding four quarters, when there was an average of 30 thousand more new vacancies than the year before. In the second quarter of 2005 some 212 thousand vacancies were filled, 24 thousand more than the year before. The figures on new vacancies and vacancies filled are not seasonally corrected.

Higher vacancy rate

The vacancy rate is the number of unfilled vacancies per thousand jobs. It indicates how tight the labour market is. The higher the ratio the more difficult it is for employers to find personnel. At the end of June 2005 there were 23 vacancies per thousand jobs, 3 more than the year before. The vacancy rate was higher than the year before in almost all sectors. Only in non-commercial services did the vacancy rate stay the same.

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