Good morning everyone and welcome to a new economics blog! Anyone who has to pick up medicine today will probably find themselves in front of a closed door, because the pharmacy employees are on strike. At Christmas the judge put a stop to this, but today the unions are reinforcing their demands. They want at least a 6 percent wage increase, retroactive from July 1, 2024. Jorit Verkerk visited the Lindehof pharmacy in Hazerswoude-Dorp. Customers there understood the strike. However, they can be contacted today for emergencies.
- And how are the Blokker employees who were on the street due to the bankruptcy of the store chain? It seems that they have little difficulty finding a new job. Of the approximately 3,500 employees, 240 have applied for benefits so far. The UWV concludes from this that most have found work quickly, because there are also plenty of jobs outside retail. It is not known how many people are waiting for Blokker’s restart, now that Blokker family member Robert Palmer continues the business with a small number of franchise stores.
- This morning, the Central Planning Bureau reports on something that did not come out of the blue: subsidies hardly help to build more homes. As long as house prices rise, housing subsidies will hardly contribute anything, simply because developers will hardly be able to build what they want even without support. The familiar story: little space, complex regulations. The only thing you will achieve with subsidies – 5 billion in the coming years – is higher land prices, and that only benefits land owners. At 10 o’clock this morning we will report on developments in housing prices.
- Furthermore, the American stock markets are closed today due to the state funeral of former President Jimmy Carter.
You can read the economics blog of Wednesday January 8 here.