The Dutch labour market cooled in the second quarter of 2026, but hiring remains tight. Vacancies fell to 375,000 and jobs declined by 8,000. Unemployment fell to 396,000. Employer labour costs per hour rose 4.1% year on year in June. Agency work and zzp work also declined.
Why this matters
There are 95 vacancies per 100 unemployed people. Suitable staff remain scarce in care, trade, business services, and construction. An open role can mean overtime, delayed customer work, or unpaid owner hours. Higher payroll costs can cut the margin on existing customer contracts. Normal enforcement of employment relationships resumed on 1 January 2025. A contract and invoice do not settle a contractor’s status. Records must show who directs the work and bears commercial risk.
Example
A ten-person service firm priced annual customer contracts last winter. One employee leaves, and the role stays open for three months. The owner covers shifts while colleagues work overtime. Customer invoices stay unchanged, but payroll and cover costs rise. Delivery slows. The owner loses sales time. Revenue looks stable, but margin per delivered hour falls. Before hiring or reorganising, the firm compares promised work, available hours, full labour cost, and expected cash.
XTROVERSO tips
- Match vacancies to actual work. List work promised to customers and the hours available. Separate replacement hiring from growth hiring. Give every open role a cost and decision date.
- Calculate the full cost per delivered hour. Include salary, employer charges, holiday cover, overtime, agency fees, recruitment, and management time. Compare that cost with the price in each customer contract.
- Separate temporary gaps from structural roles. Check whether overtime, agency staff, or subcontractors have covered the same work for months. A recurring gap may require a permanent staffing or operational decision.
- Check how contractors actually work. Record each contractor’s role, duration, rate, independence, supervision, and commercial risk. The contract, invoice, file, and daily working practice should match.
- Put staffing into the cash forecast. Map payroll, tax payments, contractor invoices, and customer payment dates for the next quarter. Stable sales do not prevent a cash squeeze.
- Keep one workforce record. Operations, finance, payroll, and management should use the same staff and contractor data. Different records lead to missed costs and compliance gaps.
Let’s review whether your staffing model still fits your work, margin, cash, and contractor records
The data, sourcing, and analysis behind this article were conducted by Linda Pavan. AI was not used to identify sources, build the factual basis, or produce the analytical judgment contained here. AI was used only as a drafting aid. The final English text was personally reviewed, edited, and approved by Linda Pavan before publication.
References
- Werkloosheid gedaald in tweede kwartaal 2026 | CBS
- Werkloosheid in juni gedaald | CBS
- Cao-lonen en contractuele loonkosten | CBS
- Handboek Loonheffingen | Belastingdienst
- Kabinet kiest voor meer rust en duidelijkheid voor zzp’ers en opdrachtgevers | Rijksoverheid
- UWV Arbeidsmarktprognose 2026–2028
- Handhaving arbeidsrelaties | Belastingdienst
- Handhavingsplan arbeidsrelaties | Belastingdienst
