Increased confidence in the Dutch job market resulted in a 9% year-on-year increase in the number jobs advertised during Q4 2014, according to staffing firm Robert Walters’ European Job Index, reports flexnieuws.nl.

This improvement was most evident in Accounting & Finance, which reported 11% more jobs compared with the same quarter last year, and 10% more jobs compared with the previous quarter. There was strong demand for specialists in business control and information management systems.

In contrast there was a 22% decline in the number of jobs in the Banking & Financial Services sector. Increasing automation in banks, however, did result in 6% more IT jobs compared with Q3 2014.

Rob Vermaak, Managing Director of Robert Walters Benelux, commented: “During the second half of 2014 we saw a more vibrant job market in the Netherlands. Candidates had greater confidence. However, the banking sector remains cautious and cost conscious. We are seeing the focus shift to online services, making for a more active IT job market.”

“Now that the international economic environment in improving, there was an increase of 43% in the number of logistics roles compared with last year, and up 7% compared with the previous quarter. This is being mainly driven by increased export activities in the Netherlands.”

“We expect greater demand for permanent contracts, after a year in which we have seen growth especially for temporary and interim staff,” Mr Vermaak concluded.