The number of people in work has passed the nine million mark for the first time, statistics agency CBS said on Monday.

Employment increased by 5% since 2019 to 8.9 million by the end of February, leading to a shortage of labour in some sectors.

Government and healthcare were the fastest growing sectors and now account for 2.6 million jobs altogether, a 9.5% increase in the last two years.

‘Labour market participation has never been so high. Some people have two jobs,’ said CBS chief economist Pieter Hein van Mulligen. ‘We see that many companies are struggling with the shortage of personnel. And that will continue for the time being as the population continues to age.’

The lack of job applicants was also attributed to bankruptcies falling to a record low level in April, when 109 companies went out of business. The government expects the number to increase in the second half of the year now that all pandemic support has ended.

Problems finding personnel have been particularly acute in the retail sector, where some shops have shortened opening hours or suspended late-night shopping, clothing retail body INretail said.

Managing director Jan Meerman said between five and 10% of vacancies were not being filled and shops were struggling to hold onto existing staff.

‘There is huge competition between the various sectors and everyone is fishing in the same pond,’ he told Nu.nl.