The total amount of hours worked by temporary workers in the Netherlands decreased by 8% in the ninth period (weeks 33-36) 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 eighth period the most recently ended. As this period had the same amount of workable days as the same period last year, no correction was applied.

Temporary worker revenue decreased by 4% in comparison to the same period last year.

Temporary workers in the administrative sector saw their hours decrease by 10% compared to the same period last year while revenue decreased by 5% in the same period.

In the industrial sector, the number of hours decreased by 6% and revenue decreased by 3% compared to the same period last year.

Within the technical sector, the number of hours decreased by 11% and revenue decreased by 6% compared to the same period last year.

ABU will publish its figures for the tenth period on 29 October 2019.

The unemployment rate in the Netherlands stood at 3.5% in August 2019 according to recent data from Eurostat.