Dutch push to spread government jobs continues as growth favours Randstad

The Dutch government is continuing talks with ministries and regional leaders to spread central-government employment more widely, and has launched a public dashboard to track progress. The interior ministry says the policy is intended to improve prosperity across the country’s regions. [1]

Interior Minister Heerma outlined the effort in a progress letter to parliament on 25 September 2026, the ministry said. While describing tentative progress, it acknowledged that most employment growth during 2025 had gone to the Randstad. It attributed this mainly to numerous small increases across different ministries, rather than expansion at a single organisation. [1]

The talks involve all ministries, King’s Commissioners and mayors. Decisions about where to locate government organisations remain with the minister responsible for each department; the interior minister’s role is to coordinate and advise. [1]

Moving existing organisations is difficult, partly because employees have established work locations, the ministry said. It considers it easier to place new organisations outside the Randstad. A September 2025 ministerial letter had already described identifying opportunities and arranging suitable premises as a lengthy process. [1] [2]