Tension in the labor market increased further at the end of last year. The number of vacancies is now higher than the number of registered unemployed. Demand for employees is particularly high in trade, business services and healthcare, according to figures published on Tuesday by Statistics Netherlands (CBS).
At the end of 2021, 387,000 vacancies were open, while 370,000 people were registered as jobseekers. That equates to 105 vacancies per 100 unemployed. In the third quarter, 93 jobs were still available for every 100 unemployed.
The shortage did not increase everywhere. In sectors that suffered from the lockdown in December, demand fell slightly. This also applied to culture and recreation.
In a broad sense, the number of vacancies is growing less rapidly than earlier in 2021. The total number of 387,000 in the last three months of last year is indeed a record, but the growth compared to the third quarter (16,000) leveled off.
The greatest demand for workers is in trade, where there are 79,000 job openings. In business services this number is 62,000 and in health care 55,000. These three sectors account for half of the total number of vacancies and in the fourth quarter there was also the largest increase, namely 4,000 in all three sectors.
The number of vacancies may continue to rise, but that does not mean that few vacancies have been filled. Statistics Netherlands counted a record number of 356,000 filled (and canceled) vacancies in the fourth quarter. The total number of employee and self-employed jobs rose by 0.4 percent to more than 11 million.
The number of unemployed (370,000) is historically low, but long-term unemployment increased. At the end of 2021, 91,000 people were out of work for more than a year, a slight increase of 1,000 people compared to the third quarter.
More and more sectors affected
In a study published this Tuesday, ABN Amro notes that staff shortages are affecting more and more industries. As an example, the bank mentions ‘intermediaries’ (employment intermediaries), cleaners and order pickers who work in warehouses. Until recently, these vacancies were filled much more easily than they are now.
As many as 30 percent of entrepreneurs recently mentioned a staff shortage as an obstacle in their business operations, and CBS has never recorded such a high percentage before. In November, 18 percent of the vacancies also turned out to be unfilled.
ABN Amro substantiates its claim that staff shortages are becoming a wider problem by looking at the sectors where it is relatively easy to recruit staff. Almost two years ago, this still applied to half of the total number of jobs. Less than 1 percent of the vacancies were difficult to fill for those ‘broad’ professions. At the end of last year, the number of ‘spacious’ jobs had fallen from half to a third. The number of ‘very tight’ occupations rose from 1 to 30 percent.
Also read: The staff shortages are back, so how do you bring in people?
At the beginning of 2021, for example, finding a construction contractor was no problem at all, according to ABN Amro. In January, all known 55 vacancies were filled, but in January 2022 it turned out that almost three quarters of the 267 vacancies at the time were not available.
The problems have only increased in jobs that were already difficult to fill. Three quarters of vacancies for bicycle couriers were already unfilled a year ago. Last month, that percentage had risen to 85 percent.
ABN Amro cites the consumer’s willingness to buy as an important cause of the high demand for labour. Last year, ‘consumer spending’ increased significantly, partly because many people were forced to stay at home due to the pandemic.
But it may also be that a lower supply of labor plays an important role. Due to the scarcity of personnel, this is the time for many employees to switch to a profession with more attractive employment conditions. According to the bank, the low supply of labor may also be due to more people stopping work, referring to a development in the United States, the great resignation† This wave of layoffs is said to be a result of the coronavirus crisis in which working from home has disrupted work routines, prompting some to consider changing jobs.
A version of this article also appeared in NRC on the morning of February 15, 2022