The demand for customer contact employees is declining less sharply than before. In the second quarter of 2026, there were approximately 3.600 open vacancies, 6% fewer than a year earlier. This is evident from the KSF Labour Market Monitor of September 2026.

Six months ago, the Customer Service Federation reported a 18% year-on-year decrease, with nearly 3.300 vacancies in the fourth quarter of 2025. That is still half the approximately 6.800 vacancies at the beginning of 2023, after which a decline set in.

The tight labor market for customer contact jobs shows little change compared to March of this year. 19 of the 35 labor market regions are still tight. The inflow into unemployment benefits remains an important target group for customer contact positions. There is still more demand than supply, but a downward trend is visible. This means that it is less difficult for employers to find staff. Finding new customer contact employees is becoming easier in South and North Holland.

“Behind these figures lies a larger change. Technology is increasingly taking over simple and repetitive customer interactions,” states the KSF in a commentary accompanying the figures. “As a result, not only is the number of people required changing, but, more importantly, the content of the work. Human customer contact is shifting towards more complex situations, where expertise, empathy, judgment, and trust are becoming more important. At the same time, new roles are emerging at the intersection of customer contact, technology, data, and processes.”

The Labour Market Monitor does not yet address the decrease in the number of vacancies and the relocation of work to low-wage countries.

(KSF, Ziptone)

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