At the beginning of 2013, 2.8 percent of Dutch employees changed jobs, but this almost doubled to 5.3 percent in the third quarter of last year. Employees with a flexible contract changed jobs much more often than employees with a permanent contract.
The UWV points to the shortage on the labor market, which caused many people to look for new work. It is now relatively easy to find a job, because many companies are looking for new employees. And people experience little risk of looking for work elsewhere. “In this labor market, people feel much more free to change jobs,” says labor market professor Ton Wilthagen of Tilburg University. “Ten years ago, at the height of the financial crisis, people stayed long if they had a job. Now many people have the idea that they can easily switch if things go wrong.”
