Financial service workers find it hardest to get a new job

Two out of three people who lose their jobs find new work within a year, according to a new report by the state-run UWV jobs centre.

In 2014, 65% of people who claimed unemployment benefit (ww) were working again within 12 months, up from 60% in 2012, the UWV said.

However, only four in 10 of the over-50s found work that quickly, compared with 90% of the under-25s.

There were also wide differences in employment rates between different sectors. Some 80% of people working through staffing agencies were back at work within a year, but just 40% of financial service workers had managed to find a new job.

They are also most likely to move on to a different type of work, the UWV said. Some 85% of financial service staff move into a different field after losing their jobs.

Dutch banks have been slashing their workforces in recent years and thousands more jobs are set to go.