In its annual labor market forecast, the UWV Benefits Agency predicts that the number of job vacancies will increase this year, but decrease next year. The number of jobs will also increase further this year, as will the number of hours worked. This growth will continue into the coming year, although it has stabilized.

During the Corona crisis, the job market took some hits, but then recovered quickly. The fact that this recovery is not continuing at the same pace is due to the new economic uncertainty caused by the war in Ukraine.

The economy contracted by 3.8 percent in 2020, but the number of jobs fell by only 0.3 percent. However, the number of working hours decreased more quickly. A year later, in 2021, the economy recovered and the number of jobs rose again above the 2020 level. However, the number of hours worked still lags behind. An increase in the number of hours worked is expected in the coming years, but the UWV does not expect the number of hours per job to exceed the pre-corona level again in 2023.

The main reason lies in the division of working hours. Self-employed workers work fewer hours on average. The number of jobs for the self-employed rose sharply in 2020, but the total number of hours barely increased. As a result, the average number of hours a self-employed worker worked fell sharply.

UWV is experiencing a strong increase in the number of jobs, particularly in the temporary employment sector and the catering industry. The UWV expects fewer jobs in the retail and auto sales sector, just as it does in the industry. The latter sector is very sensitive to the movements of the economy, but also to international developments.