By Thomas Verbeeck, Managing Director Lintberg

The Lintberg Index, representing the chances of candidates in the top segment of the labour market, experienced a growth of no less than 16 points, ending at 81 index points. This significant rise was forecasted in my last notice on the Lintberg Index.

Over the years, January has traditionally been a good month for job postings at Lintberg and 2012 proves to be no exception. With a 53% increase as opposed to December of last year, the most noticeable number is that of processed applications which has seen a 13% drop, contributing to the rise of the index. Despite the big rise, January 2011 still outperformed the past month, with 86 points.

Lintberg Index takes big leap in January

* The Lintberg Index is a monthly analysis of developments in the top 2% of the labour market. The index is a weighted index based on the number of running vacancies, the number of new vacancies, the positions advertising period and the total the number of application on €100K+ jobs in the Netherlands based on the input of the market leader Lintberg. A higher index indicates an improved labour market for professionals in the 100k+ segment.

The Lintberg Index, representing the chances of candidates in the top segment of the job market, showed a decrease of one point in November. Despite the chance of candidates being relatively unchanged, significant news can be reported. The number of new 100K+ jobs in November dropped by more than 20%. Opposed to that, 40% less candidates were able to fill vacancies, which resulted in a 9% increase in the number of outstanding job opportunities. Lastly, there was a decrease of 18% in the total number of applications when comparing to October.

December begins fiercely, when looking at the number of new vacancies. This is a regular pattern for December, when nearly all new positions are published in three weeks before the holiday period. January should prove to be a significant measuring point, as many recruiters have indicated that their clients are holding back their orders until 2012.