The total amount of hours worked by temporary workers in the Netherlands grew by 6% in 2017 compared to 2016, according to annual figures from the Dutch Federation of Private Employment Agencies (ABU).

ABU divides the year into four-week periods, with the 13th period (week 49-52) recently completed which provides full data for the year 2017.

In the 13th period, the number of hours worked by temporary workers increased by 10% and the turnover increased by 12% compared to the same period last year. Because this period was less than one workable day less than the same period last year, a correction has been applied. For the full year 2017 there was also one workable day less than in 2016 so a correction has also been applied.

For the 13th period, temporary workers in the administrative sector saw an increase of 1% in hours and an increase of 2% in turnover compared to the same period last year. In the industrial sector there was an increase of 15% in hours and an increase of 20% in turnover compared to the same period last year. Within the technical sector, the number of hours increased by 13% and the turnover increased by 15% compared to the same period last year.

ABU’s full year figures showed that temporary workers in the administrative sector saw a decrease of 2% in hours and a decrease of 2% in turnover in 2017 compared to 2016. Meanwhile, in the industrial sector, temp workers saw an increase of 11% in hours and an increase of 14% in turnover compared to 2016. In the technical sector the number of hours increased by 8% and the turnover increased by 8% compared to 2016.