With a tight labour market in the Netherlands, what are the solutions?

Over the past few years, the Netherlands has been experiencing a diminishing number of unemployed people and a growing number of vacancies. This shortly ended when in 2019, the notorious COVID-19 pandemic hit the world (CBS, 2022). However, when the earth opened again, a growing tightness in the labour market picked up. Nowadays, there are even more open vacancies than people in the workforce (UWV, 2022). In society, the effects of shortages can be felt in almost all sectors. As a result, people must work hard to keep the day-to-day business running.

Reasons

Before the pandemic hit the world, the labour market was already rather tight. When the economy picked up after several lockdowns, this only worsened. According to Bas ter Weel, an Economy professor at the University of Amsterdam, one of the reasons is the financial aid many companies received from the government during the pandemic. Many companies that would not have survived under “normal” circumstances survive now. Even though the economy was growing rather quickly, the government invested even more. Investments were made to strengthen the public sector and energy transition, and this all the while, the European Central Bank kept interest and inflation rates very low. Furthermore, because labour got cheaper, enterprises were not inclined to innovate. Combining all these factors with an ageing society: a tightness arises in the market (Lambregtse, 2022).

Solutions

There are several solutions to the scarcity in the labour market. Quite some people want to work but have, for instance, not been looking recently; it could be advisable to find ways to get them to start looking again (Lambregtse, 2022). Moreover, a great part of the labour force works part-time. In 2022, 5 million people worked full-time, but 4.6 million worked part-time, and almost half a million of the latter want to work more hours but cannot find them (CBS, 2022). Encouraging part-time employees to work more hours is advisable and could, for instance, be done by making childcare even more accessible and ensuring that working extra is rewarded. Moreover, some people could start working, but employers would need to adjust a little for them. Potential employees could be new refugees and unemployed people currently on welfare. Even though employers might have to adjust, this could be advisable to fix the scarcity of labour (Lambregtse, 2022).

Let’s get in Touch!

Even though the labour market might be tight, the Netherlands is still a country of many opportunities. However, it is advisable to work with an experienced business partner! DMS Netherlands is a privately owned boutique corporate service provider with a highly motivated and educated team of professionals. They offer services such as Domiciliation+, Management, Administration and, if necessary, Liquidation. Many of the colleagues have been with DMS for many years, and contact persons are experienced in forging long-standing relationships with clients. For over 20 years, DMS has provided top-tier management