Despite zzp decline, assignment platform Striive continues to grow

In December 2024, the Chamber of Commerce reported a decline in the number of self-employed people starting up, while the number of self-employed people quitting their businesses rose sharply. Yet Striive, HeadFirst Group's assignment platform, shows a different trend. The number of registered professionals in the fourth quarter grew by more than 8,500 new registrations, up from both previous quarters and the same quarter in 2023.

Growth in ICT and Communications & Marketing

Most of the growth on Striive comes from the ICT sector, but not in the roles you might expect, such as programmers or system developers. The increase is mainly in roles such as IT Coordinators, Agile Coaches and Scrum Masters, with impressive increases of +39% and +184% respectively compared to the third quarter. In the Communications & Marketing sector, we see growth mainly in Managers.

Notable is the sharp decline in the Personnel & Labor sector. In the fourth quarter, the number of registrations in this professional group halved compared to last year, with almost all new registrations coming from professionals employed by secondment and consulting firms.

What explains the growth on Striive?

The increase on Striive is primarily due to an increase in professionals employed by secondment and consulting firms. The number of self-employed professionals enrolled decreased slightly from both the previous quarter and last year. It is notable that when filling assignments, the government primarily works with professionals through suppliers. In ministries, the percentage is 60%, while in the private sector it is higher at 65%. This provides insight into how organizations handle the use of professionals and may indicate a broader shift in the labor market. It is possible that self-employed professionals are more likely to opt for the security of employment with an agency, partly due to the uncertainty surrounding the elimination of the enforcement moratorium as of Jan. 1, 2025.

The growth on Striive shows a shift toward more professionals employed by agencies, but it remains essential not to lose sight of the position of self-employed professionals. Even after Jan. 1, 2025, hiring the self-employed remains a safe and sensible choice. After all, the DBA law is intended to combat false self-employment, not to exclude real self-employed workers. Zzp'ers remain an undeniable force in the labor market. At HeadFirst Group we continue to follow the developments closely.