In the second quarter of 2018, the number of employees with a permanent contract rose faster than the number of those in flexible jobs, according to the latest Flex Barometer from the Dutch Federation of Private Employment Agencies (ABU). 

The barometer showed that in the second quarter, the number of employees with a permanent employment relationship was 159,000 higher than a year earlier, which represents a growth of 3.1%. The number of employees with a flexible employment relationship increased by 3,000 (0.2%) in the same period.

ABU also found that the share of self-employed people also grew again in the second quarter. The number rose by 2.2% compared to the same quarter of 2017

Within the flexible workers group, the proportion of temporary employees with the prospect of a permanent contract grew the most, at 55,000 (16.7%) in the second quarter when compared to the same period last year. 

With the same flexible workers group, ABU found that the number of employees with a temporary contract of less than one year declined by 14.7%. Overall, the share of temporary workers within the flexible employees group remained stable at 14% when compared to last year. In total, 291,000 temporary employees were active in the second quarter of this year.