The official Dutch unemployment rate fell again in July to 4.8% of the working population, national statistics office CBS said on Thursday. Some 436,000 people are now without a job, down from 700,000 at the height of the crisis in 2014. The number of people claiming unemployment benefit has also fallen to 364,000. On Wednesday, the CBS said that although the official unemployment rate is low, 1.3 million people would still like a job or to work more hours. Nevertheless, employers are finding it increasingly difficult to find new staff. New research by the CBS, chambers of trade and employers organisations shows that one in six firms struggle to find good candidates. This is twice the figure for hard-to-fill-vacancies compared to a year ago, the report said. Business services, IT and construction top the list of these vacancies. One in five employers also said they planned to take on more staff in the third quarter of the year. More >
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1.3 million want a job or more hours
The Dutch unemployment rate may have dipped below 5% this year but there are still 1.3 million people who would like a job or who would like to work longer hours, the national statistics agency CBS said on Wednesday. Nevertheless, the number of people classed as 'unused potential' has gone down 200,000 over the past year. Of the 1.3 million, some 451,000 are officially unemployed, a further 436,000 would like a job and are looking for work, and 460,000 were part-timers who want more hours, the CBS said. The CBS puts the Dutch working population at nine million, of whom 4.1 million work part time and 4.4 million have a full time job. A further 3.9 million people aged 15 to 75 are not in work and not looking for a job, mainly because they are retired (1.56 million) or claiming some form of invalidity benefit (750,000). A further 440,000 people are still in education. More >
Freelancer fees don't rise in a year
The average hourly rate charged by freelancers in the Netherlands did not go up at all this year and remains €43, according to research by website Hoofdkraan.nl. However, the fees charged by social media consultants has gone down, as has the pay rate for freelancer teachers, the research shows. The market for freelancer writers and translators has also become more difficult. The website bases its claim on 15,000 bids for work offered via its online plaform. The results indicate that marketing and communications experts are now charging rates of €43 an hour, compared with €46 a year ago. The biggest drop is among social media specialists. Their average fee is now €38 an hour, compared with €54 in 2014. Freelance teachers are now offering their services for just €33 an hour, Hoofdkraan said. This is below the fee charged by freelance secretaries and bloggers and less than half of that of a legal advisor, who asks for an average €73 an hour. The research also shows that Groningen is the best place to be a freelancer - fees there have risen 23% since 2014. Rotterdammers are the best paid in the four big cities, with average charges of €45 an hour. More >
