Civil servants, teachers and workers in industry are most likely to stay in the same job for longer than 10 years, according to latest figures from the statistics agency CBS. Six out of 10 government officials had spent a decade or more with the same employer at the end of 2016. Financial services and construction workers also scored well with around 40% keeping their jobs for at least 10 years. Civil servants were also the most likely to be employed on a permanent contract, a status enjoyed by 85% of officials. At the other end of the scale, more than half of people working in catering and corporate services had started with their current employer within the last two years. The CBS said the trend towards flexible working had created a large number of short-term jobs, with half of all positions filled through employment agencies lasting less than a year. Young people were far more likely to change jobs frequently, with 90% of workers under 25 holding their current job for less than five years, compared to just 20% of over-55s.  More >

The transition from fossil forms of energy to new types such as wind, solar or geothermal requires huge investment, not only in technology but especially in people,'  the government's highest advisory board SER has told parliament. The government plans to phase out coal-fired power plants as part of its strategy to meet the terms of the Paris climate agreement and 2,700 jobs at five plants are at stake. The pending closure of the Dutch onshore and offshore gas fields will swell the ranks of workers in the fossil-fuel fired energy plants who need retraining for jobs in the sustainable sector. In total, SER says, tens of thousands of jobs are affected. Workers at power plants are well paid and highly specialised, making a move to new jobs in or out of the energy sector difficult. Some of the coal- and gas-fired power plants can be switched over to other forms of electricty generation such as biomass or wood chips. The government's CO2 reduction goals, however, rely heavily on sustainable energy production. 'The energy transition offers opportunities for employment, innovation and a more sustainable climate. But bottlenecks in the larbour market need to be adressed urgently. And this requires cooperation on all levels,'said SER chairman Mariëtte Hamer. However, skills, training schemes and pay-and-conditions agreements differ widely and some workers even face loss of pensions, experts in the field told the Financieele Dagblad in reaction to the SER report on Friday. The technical  installation sector expects some 20,000 job vacancies by 2020, according to its employers organisation Uneto-Vni. It has opened an energy transition desk and claims workers can move easily into new, green jobs in the sector. Uneto-Vni has 5,000 members with combined annual turnover of €13bn and a workforce numbering 120,000.  More >

The official Dutch unemployment rate fell again to 3.9% in March, down from 4.1% in February, the national statistics agency CBS said on Thursday. This is the lowest figure in over 10 years, the CBS said. Social affairs minister Wouter Koolmees said the challenge now is 'to ensure that people who are still looking for a job find one that suits them'. In particular, the construction industry and healthcare sector need more properly trained staff, the minister said. The new figures mean that 8.7 million people in the Netherlands have a job of at least 12 hours a week. A further 4.2 million people do not work, most of whom are not looking for a job at present. The CBS also says that the gap between the male and female unemployment rate is shrinking. In March 3.8% of men and 4.1% of women were without a job.  More >

Paying people with a disability less than the legal minimum wage is not going to result in significantly more jobs for this group, the government's macro-economic policy unit CPB said on Wednesday. The controversial plan, which was launched by junior social affairs minister Tamara van Ark (VVD), was studied by the CPB and ‘the final effect is nil’, CPB researcher Patrick Koot told the AD. At the moment companies that employ disabled people are given a subsidy by the local council and the person in question is paid according to the same collective labour agreement as his or her colleagues. In the new plan the employer only pays for productivity of the person with a disability, who can then claim a top-up to minimum wage level from their local council. According to the CPB, people who work part-time will want to increase the number of hours they work. However, there is no incentive to work full time because the minimum wage is the maximum they will be able to earn. Assets In addition, the disabled will not be entitled to top-up pay from the council if other people in their household are working or if the person involved has other financial assets. Koot has been invited to discuss the CPB findings with MPs on Wednesday along with Amber Bindel, who represents a group which fights for equal rights for the disabled in the workplace, and wants the cabinet to ditch the plan. The Dutch human rights commission has also slammed the proposals, saying they are discriminatory.  More >