People from central and eastern Europe filled almost 5% of Dutch jobs in 2016, according to new research carried out for the employment agency umbrella organisation ABU. Together, they contributed €11bn to the Netherlands national income and without their input, Dutch firms would be forced to move or adapt their operations, the research, by SEO Economisch Onderzoek, said. Half of the 371,000 people from central and eastern Europe working in the Netherlands in 2016 were employed via staffing agencies. 'The demand for more migrant labourers will only increase in the coming years,' said ABU director Jurrien Koops. 'This is due both to economic growth and the fact that the working population will shrink from 2021.' In addition, migrant workers mainly do simple and routine jobs, which can't be filled by Dutch workers, he said. 'So we cannot talk of them taking Dutch jobs,' Koops said. 'Dutch workers simply don't want to do such work given the pay and the flexibility which it demands.' Nevertheless, efforts will need to be made to make sure the Netherlands remains attractive for seasonal and temporary workers, Koops said. Housing In particular the shortage of good affordable housing is a major issue, and many seasonal workers are living in overcrowded flats or on holiday parks. Several local councils across the Netherlands are bringing in local laws to restrict the number of Eastern Europeans living in certain residential areas, saying they want to keep residential areas ‘liveable’ by limiting the number of foreign workers. 'ABU is asking local politicians to show leadership and not to give in to false sentiment about stealing jobs and houses,' he said. 'Work together with staffing and housing agencies to eradicate the shortage of quality accommodation.This is the only way our regions will remain a draw to both companies and foreign workers.' Polish community Research into the Netherlands' Polish community by the government's socio-cultural think-tank SCP earlier this year found three quarters expect to live in the Netherlands for at least the next five years. In particular agriculture and greenhouse horticulture are heavily dependent on Polish workers, the SCP said. Despite having jobs and working long hours, Polish nationals earn on average a third less than the Dutch and 17% live in poverty. However, just 1.8% are claiming welfare benefits, compared with 2.6% of the Dutch population as a whole.  More >

There has been a sharp increase in the number of Dutch nationals living in another European country over the past five years, but the percentage of Dutch who have moved elsewhere is still below the EU average. New figures from the European statistics agency Eurostat show that 3.2% of the Dutch live elsewhere in the EU, a rise of 0.5 percentage points on five years ago. But this is still below the EU average of 3.8%, Eurostat said. The most mobile Europeans are Romanians - almost 20% of the population live elsewhere in Europe. Germans are the most stay-at-home Europeans, followed by the British. Other research published earlier this week showed the Dutch are among the least likely Europeans to want to work abroad. The research among almost 10,000 EU workers by salary processor ADP, showed that just 3% of Dutch workers are open to working in another European country, the lowest rate among all eight EU countries in the study.  More >

The Dutch are among the least likely Europeans to want to work abroad, according to research among almost 10,000 EU workers by salary processor ADP. The research, which included 1,300 Dutch nationals, showed that just 3% of Dutch workers are open to working in another European country, the lowest rate among all eight EU countries in the study. Loyalty is also a major issue among Dutch workers. Some 37% of those polled said they would prefer to spend the rest of their working lives with the same employer, a rise from 22% a year ago. 'The tight labour market means that people are more confident that they can find a job close to home,' Martijn Brandt, ADP director, said. 'Many people who want to work abroad are driven by economic necessity - they can find the job there which they could not find here.'   More >

Fewer freelancers and the self-employed have insurance against illness or private pensions, national statistics agency CBS said on Friday. In 2016, 19% of the 895,000 self-employed in the Netherlands had disability insurance, compared with 23% in 2011.And in terms of pensions, 10% of the self-employed had put cash into annuities in 2016, compared with 13.3% in 2011. People working in the construction sector are most likely to have supplementary insurance - almost one in three pay into work-related disability schemes, the CBS figures show. Earlier this week, the European Commission said the Netherlands needs to reduce the incentives given to both employers and employees to work via temporary and self-employment contracts. The commission warned that the self-employed are more often under- insured against disability, unemployment and old age. ‘This could affect the sustainability of the social security system in the long run,’ the commission said.  More >