The Dutch ICT labour market has turned in three years. Open vacancies in ICT occupations have fallen since 2023, to just over 18,900 in the second quarter of 2026, according to UWV, the Dutch employee insurance agency. Over the same period the number of ICT workers on unemployment benefit rose fast, to almost 6,400 in July. UWV points among other things to reorganisations at banks.
The work is growing
At the same time 589,000 people work in an ICT occupation, and that growth picked up in 2026. 62% of them work outside the ICT sector. UWV sees AI automating some tasks and raising demand for specialists. So employers hire more selectively.
Salaries rise more slowly
Wages show it too. In information and communication, collective wages rose 3.1% in the third quarter, CBS reports. A year earlier it was 6.6%. The average across all sectors is 4.0%.
A window for employers
Employers who couldn't find an experienced developer, administrator or data specialist in recent years now see candidates available through a reorganisation. At banks these are people used to large systems, strict rules and supervision. The window won't stay open: employers who hire selectively all pick the same experienced people.
What you can do
- Ask a candidate from a reorganisation about the work of the last year, not only the job title. At large organisations the same title covers very different work.
- Keep the process short: two interviews and a decision within three weeks.
- Look beyond the ICT sector. 62% of ICT people work elsewhere, and bring knowledge of that sector with them.
Sources: UWV, labour market information ICT (in Dutch); CBS, collective wages up 4.0% in the third quarter, 1 October 2026 (in Dutch).
Pearson & Partners locates and qualifies experienced ICT people, including those who don't answer job ads.