The total amount of hours worked by temporary workers in the Netherlands fell by 5% in the third period (weeks 9-12) of 2019, compared to the same period last year, according to the Dutch Federation of Private Employment Agencies (ABU).

ABU divides the year into four-week periods, with the third period the most recently ended. This period counted as many workable days as in the same period last year, so no correction was applied.

Temporary worker revenue decreased by 2% in comparison to the same period last year.

Meanwhile, temporary workers in the administrative sector saw their hours decrease by 6% compared to the same period last year while revenue decreased by 3% in the same period.

Hours worked by temporary workers in the industrial sector saw a decrease of 5% and revenue decreased by 1% compared to last year.

The amount of worked hours in the technical sector fell by 1% while turnover fell by 1% compared to the same period last year.

ABU will publish its figures for the fourth period on 14 May 2019.

According to data from Eurostat, the Dutch unemployment rate stood at 3.4% in February 2019.