One in five healthcare vacancies remains unfilled
- Economy
Roland Kroes
Senior Press Officer Retail & Private Banking, Sustainability, Sponsoring
Despite the coronavirus crisis and the sharp drop in job vacancies, 10.4 percent of vacancies in the Netherlands remain unfilled, according to ABN AMRO’s new labour market indicator. This means one in ten vacancies are misaligned with the professional interests of job seekers and/or the distance they’re willing to travel. As a result, the coronavirus-driven jump in unemployment will not necessarily increase labour supply.
Still no suitable job seekers for over 1 in 10 job vacancies in the Netherlands
Scarcity in care is greater still – nursing jobs difficult to fill, for example
Much-discussed healthcare re-evaluation has not led to structurally higher labour supply
The indicator shows big sectoral and regional differences. It’s much harder to fill vacancies in the care and energy sectors at the moment than in the leisure industry. Even after the lockdown the shortage of care workers has remined high, with more unfilled vacancies now than at the start of February.
Substantially higher shortage in care
Over one in five health care vacancies remains unfilled. The shortage of nursing professionals (34 percent of vacancies unfilled) is high and there are even more unfilled vacancies for more specialised jobs such as cardiology nurses (82 percent), nurse specialists (70 percent) and intensive care nurses (60 percent). One reason for the shortage in the care sector is increased demand due to ageing. A government committee found that 43 percent of new employees in care quit within two years. Intense discussion during the coronavirus crisis about the re-evaluation of vital professions, such as care workers, is clearly not easing the problem yet. Research carried out by ABN AMRO and PanelWizard in April showed that while 18 percent of workers in the Netherlands are more attracted to a job in the care sector than they were before the crisis, an equally high percentage said the idea had become less appealing.
Seven out of ten chronic patients in favour of remote care
ABN AMRO expects the shortage of care workers to remain high. “Especially in the larger cities. According to our indicator, 56 percent of care vacancies in Rotterdam will remain unfilled, 41 percent in Amsterdam, 40 percent in Utrecht and 29 percent in The Hague,” says Sonny Duijn, Sector Economist Themes at ABN AMRO. “There is greater scarcity in big cities because the relatively low wages in healthcare make it harder for care workers to afford the higher costs of accommodation there. The alternative is to work outside the major cities. Digitalisation and ‘remote care’ could provide at least part of the solution. Patients can now watch explanatory videos and their health can be assessed and diagnoses made online. Previous research by ABN AMRO showed that no less than 70 percent of chronic patients are open to the idea of remote care – and that’s a hopeful sign.