LIMBURG - Employment
Employment participation rate
The overall employment participation rate in Limburg is below the Dutch average, the main reason being the low female participation rate. There are also a large number of former mine workers who, as a result of poor health and/or a lack of qualifications, take no active part in the labour market.
Limburg's labour market policy is drawn up and carried out by the Territorial Employment Pact, a co-operation of the provincial authorities, local councils, employers' associations and trade unions, educational institutions, job centres and social security organisations. The policy contributes to a growing employment participation rate. An increasing part of the potential labour force will be guided to the labour market.
Demographic trends will cause the labour force in Limburg to decline in the medium to long term. By mobilising certain target groups (people with an occupational disability, women re-entering the workforce) and retaining older employees, policy-makers are trying to keep the labour force up to strength.
About 60% of the working population in Limburg has a qualification of secondary school or higher. The province has a range of vocational training programmes at elementary, secondary and higher levels, with a comprehensive range of options at secondary and higher levels. South Limburg also has two universities.
Commuter traffic in Limburg moves predominantly in an eastward direction: 6 600 Belgians come to work in Limburg every day, while 8 105 Limburgers work in Germany. 1 260 commuters go from Limburg to Belgium and 2 100 Germans work in Limburg every day.
Growth in employment
Employment in Limburg depends much more than in the rest of the Netherlands on the manufacturing industry. In terms of full-time job equivalents, industry's share in employment is 22% compared with 14% in the Netherlands as a whole. The relatively strong presence of the manufacturing industry contributes to the cyclically sensitivity of the economy, especially in South Limburg.
Growth in employment (measured in full-time equivalents) was 1.8% per annum in the past six years. After a period of strong growth in 2002, the number of jobs rose by a mere 0.6%. In 2001 total employment amounted to 506 000 jobs, with self-employed persons accounting for 10%. Part-time jobs accounted for 30%, compared with 19% in 1983. Vacancies in Limburg averaged 7 400 in 2002, mostly in the hotel and catering industry and commercial services.
The number of vacancies, however, is shrinking rapidly, while the number of job-seekers is growing sharply. As the growth rate of Limburg's economy lags behind that of the Netherlands as a whole, so does the increase in the number of jobs. The surplus in labour demand of recent years now turned into a surplus in supply. Nevertheless, medium to long term demographic trends will mean that the supply of newcomers will be insufficient. This worrisome shortage will not apply to all sectors. Some sectors will even see an insufficient supply of qualified personnel. Growth sectors are expected to be hotel and catering, education, commercial and public services. Services already account for almost 70% of total employment.
Restructuring: a success story
With the closure of the coal mines Limburg was faced with the loss of 44 000 jobs over the period 1965-75. In addition, some 30 000 jobs were lost in related industries. At present, however, the long and difficult redevelopment and restructuring process aimed at job creation may be regarded as a success and during the past decade, Limburg's unemployment rate was very close to the national average. In 2003 it amounted to 9% (7.9% for the Netherlands).
The unemployment rate for women (10.6%) in Limburg is higher than for men (8%). The unemployment rate for those under the age of 23 amounts to nearly 8%. Among men, the largest number of unemployed are those in administrative or commercial occupations with lower or secondary level vocational qualifications, and among those in technical occupations with lower vocational qualifications. In both Limburg and the Netherlands as a whole, about 50% of the unemployed are out of a job for more than 12 months.
Labour costs and incomes
In the Netherlands wages are frequently fixed by a collective bargaining agreement that regulates all employment terms and conditions and applies to a whole branch of industry. Collective agreements are usually negotiated by employers' associations and unions and are generally valid for one year. There are, on the whole, only minor regional differences in wage levels.
The industrial sector still plays an important role in the structure of Limburg's economy. Part of this sector is heavily capital-intensive and the other part more labour-intensive. The wage level in Limburg is therefore very much in line with the national picture. Over 8% of all employees in Limburg are employed under "flexible" employment contracts. Flexible employment is growing in the Netherlands as well.
Disposable household income
In the year 2000 the average disposable household income in the province of Limburg amounted to € 25 200. The figure for the Netherlands as a whole was € 25 900. The difference can be attributed to the lower average income in South Limburg.
Purchasing power
The purchasing power of the Dutch improved in the period 1993-2002, rising from zero to 2.8%, with 1998-1999 showing an increase of 1.2, and 1999-2000 an increase of 2%. Figures for Limburg will differ slightly, as the composition of its population differs and figures vary for different groups.
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