Wage Index, Sector Analysis of the Netherlands
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- 130310-Loonwijzer-Monsterboard-WageIndex-2013 Amsterdam, Wage Indicator Foundation, March 2013 (EN)
- Press Coverage - Wage Index (2.76 MB, docx)
Executive Summary and Key Findings:
The main purpose of this second Loonwijzer – Monsterboard Wage Index is to describe some of the key characteristics of the workforce in ten selected sectors of the Dutch labour market.
We study the following sectors:
(i) Agriculture, nature, animals, environment
(ii) Construction, fittings, and housing,
(iii) Education, research, and training
(iv) Finance, banking, and insurance
(v) Health care, paramedics, and laboratory
(vi) Hospitality, tourism, leisure, and sports
(vii) Industrial production, manufacture, and metal
(viii) IT, automation, and telecommunications
(ix) Marketing, PR, and advertising
(x) Transport, logistics, ports, and airports.
Levels as well as annual changes in key characteristics are studied in six focus areas:
(a) gross hourly wage and bonuses
(b) gender pay gap
(c) working hours and overtime
(d) restructuring expectations and restructuring in the past 12 months
(e) satisfaction with work in detail
(f) satisfaction with life as-a-whole.
In the second chapter we focus on developments in two sectors, Information and communication and Financial and insurance activities in the period from 2006 to 2012.
Finally, this report aims to compare wages worldwide. The last chapter focuses on 4 occupational groups across (up to) 23 countries:
1) managers
2) professionals
3) technicians and associate professionals
4) clerical support workers.
Some of the main findings include:
• Overall, 2012 was a challenging year for the labour market environment in the Netherlands.
• Median wages in the Netherlands tended to stagnate or even decrease in 2012 across most sectors of the economy. In particular the agricultural sector did not have a good year in wage terms. The median wage of agricultural workers decreased more than 6 percent from 2011.
• End-of year bonus and performance bonus remained the most popular bonuses paid by Dutch employers, in addition to the “vakantietoeslag”(holiday bonus).
• In most professions the inequality in compensation between the two genders persists, female workers typically get approx. 15% less than their male colleagues. The sole exceptions are some clerical support workers, in particular those working in the Marketing, PR and advertising sector who on average receive 8% more than their male colleagues. Furthermore, in comparison with the previous report, the size of pay gap has stagnated or even increased, which may be an indication that women are being hit harder than men by difficult conditions on the job market.
• Respondents reported an increase of redundancies announced at their workplace in comparison with 2011, finance being an exception in this regard. However, the situation is still better then it was back in 2010.
• Considering the near future, workers in construction, education, hospitability, industrial production, IT and marketing more often reported that they expect unstable and uncertain incomes.
• Dutch workers are generally satisfied with life: as in 2011 the share of respondents reporting being satisfied with life gravitates towards 90%.
