The population growth in the Netherlands - currently around 16 million - is high compared to the European average. However, this promises a steady availability of Dutch employees for the future. Present labor availability matches the needs of business, with a relatively high proportion of the population in the 'active' age range (15-64 years of age) and a growth of 1.5% annually. The Dutch unemployment rate in January 2002 stood at 2.4% (versus 8.4% for the European Union as a whole).

The Netherlands boasts a high proportion of young people enrolled in higher education, especially in the fields of technology and economics. Also, in comparison with other European countries, the Netherlands has the biggest percentage of employees involved in training programs to learn new skills. The Dutch government takes an active role in ensuring that the labor requirements of business are met by the output of the Dutch educational system.

The Dutch are renowned for their knowledge of foreign languages. Most of them speak English, German and French. For the Dutch, education in language skills begins early, often in primary school. The country's multilingual labor force is an important reason why so many European head offices, shared services centers, and call centers are located in the Netherlands. The excellent working attitude of the Dutch leads to their deploying of their knowledge and skills effectively. Statistics show that Dutch employees are highly motivated and receptive to learning new skills. As a result, the Netherlands workforce has higher productivity than the workforces in most other European countries.

Temporary labour

Given high employment in the service sector, the Netherlands has the highest percentage of people working as temporary employees in Europe. This gives employers the opportunity to screen potential long-term employees within the work environment while they are on a flexible contract. In fact, most of the recent growth in employment is generated through flexible contracts.

Building on their success in services, temps are moving into production areas, where they provide additional flexibility by doing seasonal work. With a large proportion of the young, working-age population making up the workforce, more and more are being hired as temporary employees. Another trend is towards job pools, where several organizations share the same employees whether in services or manufacturing. This type of creative solution also adds to labor flexibility.