For a time, organizations were able to afford the luxury of filling the shortage of permanent employees with temporary, external professionals. Those days are over: even in the flexible labor market there is scarcity on all fronts. This is evident from research by HR service provider HeadFirst Group and labor market data specialist Intelligence Group. "In order to recruit, bind and retain talent in these times, it is necessary for clients to pull out all the stops. The answer lies in improving employer branding, using data-driven recruitment methods, approaching alternative target groups and creating an attractive hybrid working environment," says Han Kolff, CEO HeadFirst Group.

Supply of flexible labor market dries up
The number of offers on assignments for highly skilled work has plummeted: it is now five times lower than five quarters ago. Secondment agencies have sold out and are trying to supplement their supply by recruiting new staff, but are running into the wall. In addition, the sourcing pressure on highly skilled freelancers has reached a new record: nearly 7 out of 10 are approached for an assignment at least once a quarter. Kolff says: "This hyper scarcity in the flex market is new in the Netherlands. It requires creativity and forces organizations to look at the entire labor population in an integral way. The form of contract is less relevant; bringing in the right talent is paramount."

No wage wave for permanent, but higher rates for flex
The scarcity in the flexible labor market shows itself, among other things, in rising hourly rates. The (offered) rates of professionals - self-employed and seconded - in various job groups are rising between 3.5 and 7 percent on average. In the third quarter of 2021, it is even going to accelerate. Remarkable given that the wage wave among permanent staff has not yet materialized. The September figures from the AWVN show an average wage increase of 2.4 percent. More than the annual average of 1.9%, but lower than the September inflation rate of 2.7%.

Geert-Jan Waasdorp, director and founder Intelligence Group: "For an accurate picture, we present - together with HeadFirst Group - at the end of the year the rate forecast for external professionals in 2022. With in-depth information at ISCO-3 level for around 130 job areas, the top 10 risers & fallers and of course various other notable items."

The Talent Monitor "Hyper Scarcity in the Labor Market" is available for free download at hfgroup.headfirst.group.

About Intelligence Group
Intelligence Group is an International Data & Tech company in the field of labor market and recruitment data. Intelligence Group focuses on the collection, storage and enrichment of labor market related data for the purpose of improving the recruitment of personnel (or employees) by employers and the employability/labor market opportunities of employees. This data is made available to clients in a wide variety, via reports, dashboards and APIs.

About HeadFirst Group
HeadFirst Group is a leading, international HR service provider and the largest temporary employment platform for professionals in the Netherlands. The organization offers a diversity of HR solutions: Managed Service Providing, Recruitment Process Outsourcing, intermediary services (matchmaking, contracting) and HR consultancy. An average of fifteen thousand professionals work daily for over four hundred clients in Europe, with which HeadFirst Group realizes an annual turnover of over 1.5 billion euros. The main brands of HeadFirst Group are the intermediaries HeadFirst, Between and Myler, MSP service provider Staffing Management Services and RPO and recruitment specialist Sterksen.