The CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis plays an important role in the preparation of economic policy in the Netherlands. This paper addresses the interaction between CPB models and employment policy during the period 1950–1997. We discuss several examples of the impact of CPB models on employment policies. At the same time, the specific needs of policy makers influenced model building at the CPB. Several innovations of CPB models were needed to explain the actual developments on the Dutch labour market and to investigate the usefulness of various remedies addressing the disequilibria on this market.