The total number of jobs in the Netherlands has shrunk by 125,000 during the coronavirus pandemic to the end of July, according to new figures from state jobs agency UWV.

The decline was strongest in the hospitality and business services sector, where the number of jobs total declined by 16%, the UWV said.

Most jobs – 31,000 – have disappeared at staffing agencies, followed by business services (15,000) and hospitality (12,000). ‘The job losses are particularly visible in sectors were lots of staff have temporary contacts,’ the agency said.

By contrast, the number of jobs in the food retail sector rose 12,000 – the only business sector to see an increase.

The UWV said the job losses would have been far higher without government support for companies which have been hit by the lockdown.

By the end of September, 278,000 people in the Netherlands were claiming unemployment benefit (ww), a rise of 16% on February, before the pandemic took hold. In catering, for example, the number of unemployment benefit claims almost doubled.

The UWV said it is expecting more job losses and rising ww claims in the coming months.