There has been a sharp rise in the number of jobless Dutch people taking up jobs in Germany, the Volkskrant reports on Monday.

For example, the Emsland Frischgeflügel chicken slaughterhouse in the German town of Haren has over 100 Dutch workers on its books, while dozens of Dutch people are also employed at the Schloss Dankern holiday park.

The unemployment rate in Dutch border areas of Drenthe, Overijssel and parts of Groningen are much higher than in Germany. ‘They have the jobs and we have the people,’ said Gerrit van der Veen of the Zuidoost-Drenthe jobs centre.

Language

’18 months ago, Dutch people were much less willing to work in Germany but now there is less choice in the Netherlands, things are changing,’ Wanda Wever of employment agency Job Direkt told the Volkskrant.

Last September, a special service desk opened in the Groningen village of Bad Nieuweschans to encourage cross-border work and help jobseekers take the plunge.

It has led to Dutch nationals starting work in a German wind turbine factory, as well as language courses for civil servants and long-term unemployed in the area, the Volkskrant said.