Labour force; main figures by sex and other characteristics 1996-2014

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Sex Personal characteristics Labour force Gross labour participation (%) Labour force Net labour participation (%) Labour force Percentage unemployed (%) Labour force Labour position Total labour force (x 1 000) Labour force Labour position Employed labour force (x 1 000) Labour force Labour position Unemployed labour force (x 1 000) Labour force Labour position Persons not included in the labour force (x 1 000) Employed labour force aged 15-64 Average hours worked (hours) Employed labour force aged 15-64 Position on the labour market Total employees (x 1 000) Employed labour force aged 15-64 Position on the labour market Employee with a permanent job (x 1 000) Employed labour force aged 15-64 Position on the labour market Self-employed (x 1 000) Employed labour force aged 15-64 Position on the labour market Position on the labour market unknown (x 1 000) Relation to the labour market Total population aged 15-64 years (x 1 000) Relation to the labour market Employed >= 12 hours (x 1 000) Registered at employment office Registered employed labour force (x 1 000) Registered at employment office Registered unemployed labour force (x 1 000) Registered at employment office Registered not belonging to labour force (x 1 000)
Total men and women Total 71.7 65.7 8.3 7,870 7,215 656 3,110 34.4 6,063 4,820 1,152 . 10,980 7,215 219 329 294
Age: 15 to 25 years 39.9 34.0 14.8 816 695 121 1,229 29.2 657 259 38 . 2,045 695 18 16 14
Age: 15 to 20 years 20.6 16.2 21.3 203 160 43 785 23.0 154 39 6 . 988 160 2 . 2
Age: 20 to 25 years 58.0 50.6 12.7 613 535 78 444 31.0 503 220 32 . 1,057 535 16 15 12
Age: 25 to 30 years 83.7 76.2 9.0 871 793 78 169 35.2 721 467 72 . 1,040 793 25 30 22
Age: 30 to 35 years 88.1 82.0 6.9 884 822 61 120 35.2 721 572 101 . 1,003 822 28 30 24
Age: 35 to 40 years 87.2 81.1 7.0 873 812 61 129 34.9 677 569 135 . 1,001 812 25 36 24
Age: 40 to 45 years 84.4 78.2 7.3 1,010 936 74 187 35.1 761 664 175 . 1,197 936 28 45 39
Age: 45 to 50 years 84.1 78.3 6.8 1,073 999 73 203 35.1 807 714 192 . 1,276 999 31 44 38
Age: 50 to 55 years 81.2 75.2 7.5 1,016 940 76 235 35.1 750 676 190 . 1,251 940 31 49 40
Age: 55 to 60 years 73.3 67.4 8.1 829 762 67 302 34.4 610 563 152 . 1,131 762 22 47 43
Age: 60 to 65 years 48.1 43.9 8.8 499 455 44 537 33.6 358 337 97 . 1,036 455 10 32 50
Age: 25 to 35 years 85.9 79.0 7.9 1,754 1,615 139 289 35.2 1,442 1,039 173 . 2,043 1,615 53 59 46
Age: 35 to 45 years 85.6 79.5 7.2 1,882 1,748 135 315 35.0 1,438 1,232 310 . 2,198 1,748 54 81 63
Age: 45 to 55 years 82.7 76.8 7.1 2,089 1,940 149 438 35.1 1,558 1,389 382 . 2,527 1,940 62 93 77
Age: 55 to 65 years 61.3 56.1 8.4 1,328 1,217 111 839 34.1 968 900 249 . 2,167 1,217 32 79 93
Origin: Netherlands 73.6 68.6 6.8 6,253 5,829 425 2,240 34.4 4,890 3,961 939 . 8,494 5,829 156 223 160
Ethnic origin: foreign background 65.0 55.7 14.3 1,605 1,375 230 865 34.3 1,164 853 212 . 2,470 1,375 63 106 134
Origin: western country 71.1 64.2 9.8 775 700 76 315 34.5 580 451 119 . 1,090 700 24 37 34
Origin: MOE country 72.5 63.8 12.0 100 88 12 38 34.9 75 50 14 . 138 88 4 5 5
Origin: western country, other 70.9 64.3 9.4 675 611 64 276 34.5 506 401 106 . 951 611 20 32 29
Origin: non-western country 60.1 49.0 18.6 830 676 154 550 34.0 584 403 92 . 1,380 676 39 69 100
Origin: Suriname 68.0 57.0 16.2 176 147 29 83 33.8 131 98 16 . 259 147 8 14 17
Origin: Netherlands Antilles or Aruba 64.8 50.9 21.5 67 53 14 36 34.4 48 34 5 . 104 53 3 7 7
Origin: Turkey 55.7 46.4 16.8 158 131 27 125 34.4 113 78 19 . 283 131 7 10 22
Origin: Morocco 56.4 44.5 21.1 133 105 28 103 33.3 94 62 11 . 236 105 7 13 18
Origin: non-western country, other 59.3 48.0 19.1 296 239 57 203 34.2 198 130 41 . 499 239 14 24 36
Origin unknown 70.1 63.0 . 12 10 . 5 35.3 9 5 . . 16 10 . . .
Position in household: single person 70.2 61.7 12.2 1,270 1,115 155 538 35.6 952 714 163 . 1,808 1,115 52 96 110
Position in household: single parent 71.2 61.3 13.8 306 264 42 124 31.8 227 191 37 . 430 264 19 27 46
Position in household: parent 84.9 80.1 5.6 3,420 3,227 193 609 34.4 2,633 2,320 595 . 4,029 3,227 76 105 67
Pos. in household: partner (non-parent) 74.5 69.6 6.5 2,017 1,885 132 691 35.2 1,583 1,288 302 . 2,708 1,885 50 76 50
Position in household: adult child 53.6 45.5 15.1 628 533 95 543 31.5 496 227 37 . 1,171 533 16 19 13
Position in household: underage child 12.5 9.1 27.0 74 54 20 516 19.5 52 11 2 . 590 54 . . .
Position in household: other member 63.5 56.0 11.8 156 137 18 89 33.9 120 69 18 . 245 137 5 6 7
Education level: primary 39.1 32.7 16.4 373 312 61 581 33.9 264 201 48 . 954 312 16 29 69
Education level: vmbo, mbo1, avo 55.2 48.4 12.3 1,174 1,030 144 954 33.1 883 664 147 . 2,128 1,030 43 70 74
Education level: avo - first stage 43.2 38.2 11.5 325 287 37 427 30.7 249 180 39 . 752 287 9 14 16
Education level: havo, vwo, mbo 75.0 68.4 8.8 3,402 3,103 299 1,133 33.9 2,626 2,081 477 . 4,535 3,103 102 154 108
Education level: mbo 2 or 3 78.6 71.5 9.1 1,495 1,359 136 406 34.3 1,158 935 201 . 1,901 1,359 52 72 62
Education level: mbo 4 83.4 77.3 7.3 1,308 1,212 96 260 34.6 1,023 848 189 . 1,568 1,212 35 54 26
Education level: havo, vwo. 56.2 49.9 11.2 599 532 67 466 31.5 445 298 87 . 1,065 532 15 27 20
Education level:hbo, university bachelor 85.7 81.1 5.3 1,745 1,652 93 291 34.7 1,385 1,144 268 . 2,036 1,652 36 48 25
Education level: university 91.8 87.7 4.4 1,095 1,046 49 98 36.5 847 689 199 . 1,193 1,046 18 23 10
Education level: unknown 60.3 53.4 11.5 81 71 9 53 35.3 58 41 14 . 134 71 3 5 9
Men Total 78.4 72.3 7.9 4,321 3,981 340 1,189 38.9 3,215 2,587 766 . 5,510 3,981 117 192 122
Age: 15 to 25 years 40.0 34.9 12.7 416 363 53 623 31.5 339 147 25 . 1,039 363 10 6 6
Age: 15 to 20 years 20.6 16.6 19.5 104 84 20 401 25.9 80 23 4 . 505 84 . . .
Age: 20 to 25 years 58.5 52.3 10.5 312 280 33 222 33.2 259 124 21 . 534 280 9 5 5
Age: 25 to 30 years 87.0 78.2 10.1 455 409 46 68 38.2 361 235 48 . 523 409 12 17 9
Age: 30 to 35 years 94.1 87.3 7.2 473 438 34 29 39.4 371 292 67 . 502 438 15 18 8
Age: 35 to 40 years 93.8 87.7 6.5 468 437 31 31 40.1 348 291 89 . 499 437 13 21 8
Age: 40 to 45 years 92.5 85.9 7.1 552 513 39 45 40.6 400 351 113 . 597 513 15 27 15
Age: 45 to 50 years 91.5 86.3 5.7 587 554 33 54 40.5 425 379 128 . 641 554 17 25 17
Age: 50 to 55 years 90.0 84.0 6.7 565 527 38 63 40.4 404 364 123 . 627 527 17 28 16
Age: 55 to 60 years 85.4 78.7 7.9 483 444 38 82 39.4 343 316 101 . 565 444 13 29 19
Age: 60 to 65 years 62.6 57.2 8.7 324 296 28 193 37.4 224 210 72 . 517 296 6 21 24
Age: 25 to 35 years 90.5 82.7 8.6 928 847 80 97 38.8 732 527 115 . 1,025 847 27 35 17
Age: 35 to 45 years 93.1 86.7 6.8 1,020 950 70 76 40.4 748 643 202 . 1,096 950 28 49 23
Age: 45 to 55 years 90.8 85.2 6.2 1,152 1,081 71 117 40.5 829 743 252 . 1,269 1,081 33 52 33
Age: 55 to 65 years 74.5 68.4 8.2 806 740 66 276 38.6 567 527 173 . 1,082 740 19 50 43
Origin: Netherlands 80.2 75.0 6.5 3,444 3,222 222 852 39.2 2,594 2,130 627 . 4,296 3,222 83 132 67
Ethnic origin: foreign background 72.2 62.5 13.4 871 754 117 335 37.8 616 454 138 . 1,206 754 34 60 55
Origin: western country 77.7 71.0 8.6 405 370 35 116 38.3 298 234 72 . 521 370 12 19 12
Origin: MOE country 82.5 77.2 6.4 48 45 3 10 37.6 36 25 9 . 58 45 2 . .
Origin: western country, other 77.1 70.2 8.9 357 326 32 106 38.4 262 209 64 . 463 326 11 18 11
Origin: non-western country 68.1 56.1 17.6 466 384 82 219 37.4 318 220 66 . 685 384 22 41 43
Origin: Suriname 72.2 60.4 16.3 87 73 14 34 36.7 63 46 10 . 121 73 3 8 7
Origin: Netherlands Antilles or Aruba 70.1 54.5 22.3 36 28 8 15 37.4 25 17 3 . 51 28 . 4 3
Origin: Turkey 66.9 57.1 14.7 98 83 14 48 37.8 68 48 15 . 146 83 4 6 9
Origin: Morocco 67.8 55.1 18.8 80 65 15 38 37.3 56 38 9 . 118 65 5 8 7
Origin: non-western country, other 66.4 54.1 18.5 165 134 31 83 37.6 106 70 28 . 248 134 8 16 17
Origin unknown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Position in household: single person 74.0 63.6 14.0 762 656 107 268 37.8 537 409 119 . 1,031 656 31 69 57
Position in household: single parent 86.2 77.9 9.6 68 62 7 11 38.8 46 41 15 . 79 62 2 5 4
Position in household: parent 94.6 90.4 4.5 1,890 1,805 84 107 40.6 1,410 1,249 396 . 1,997 1,805 44 59 26
Pos. in household: partner (non-parent) 84.6 79.3 6.3 1,085 1,017 68 198 39.1 824 688 193 . 1,283 1,017 26 43 24
Position in household: adult child 57.2 49.3 13.9 392 337 54 293 33.8 309 155 29 . 685 337 11 12 8
Position in household: underage child 11.6 8.6 25.7 35 26 9 267 21.9 25 6 . . 302 26 . . .
Position in household: other member 66.2 57.9 12.6 89 78 11 45 36.2 64 39 14 . 134 78 2 4 3
Education level: primary 49.4 41.7 15.7 232 196 36 238 38.5 158 120 37 . 470 196 10 20 29
Education level: vmbo, mbo1, avo 66.0 58.6 11.2 699 621 78 360 38.2 513 387 108 . 1,059 621 26 43 29
Education level: avo - first stage 47.0 42.1 10.5 153 137 16 173 36.4 115 80 22 . 326 137 5 6 7
Education level: havo, vwo, mbo 81.1 74.6 8.1 1,871 1,720 151 435 39.0 1,396 1,112 324 . 2,306 1,720 54 86 47
Education level: mbo 2 or 3 86.1 79.0 8.3 845 775 70 137 39.6 638 514 137 . 982 775 28 42 27
Education level: mbo 4 88.6 82.8 6.6 696 650 46 89 40.3 521 438 129 . 785 650 17 29 10
Education level: havo, vwo. 61.2 54.7 10.6 330 295 35 209 34.9 238 161 57 . 540 295 9 16 10
Education level:hbo, university bachelor 89.7 85.1 5.1 875 830 45 101 39.0 667 566 163 . 976 830 16 27 10
Education level: university 94.3 90.3 4.2 595 570 25 36 39.4 447 378 123 . 631 570 9 13 4
Education level: unknown 72.9 65.2 10.5 49 44 5 18 38.5 34 23 10 . 67 44 2 3 4
Women Total 64.9 59.1 8.9 3,549 3,233 316 1,921 28.7 2,848 2,234 386 . 5,470 3,233 101 137 172
Age: 15 to 25 years 39.8 33.0 17.0 400 332 68 606 26.6 319 112 13 . 1,006 332 8 10 8
Age: 15 to 20 years 20.5 15.8 23.3 99 76 23 384 19.9 74 16 2 . 483 76 . . .
Age: 20 to 25 years 57.5 48.9 15.0 301 256 45 222 28.6 244 96 12 . 523 256 7 9 7
Age: 25 to 30 years 80.4 74.2 7.7 416 384 32 101 32.0 359 232 24 . 517 384 13 13 13
Age: 30 to 35 years 82.0 76.6 6.6 411 384 27 90 30.4 350 281 34 . 501 384 13 11 17
Age: 35 to 40 years 80.6 74.6 7.5 405 375 30 97 28.7 329 277 45 . 502 375 13 15 16
Age: 40 to 45 years 76.3 70.5 7.6 458 423 35 142 28.4 361 313 62 . 600 423 13 18 24
Age: 45 to 50 years 76.5 70.2 8.2 486 446 40 149 28.4 382 335 64 . 635 446 14 20 21
Age: 50 to 55 years 72.4 66.3 8.5 452 414 38 172 28.4 347 311 67 . 624 414 15 21 23
Source: CBS.
Explanation of symbols

Table explanation


This table comprises yearly and quarterly figures on the main aspects of the labour force broken down by sex and other personal characteristics.

Data available from 1996 to 2014

Status of the figures:
The figures in this table are final.

Changes as of 13 February 2015:
None, this table was stopped.

When will new figures be published?
This table is stopped. The update of 13 February 2015 was the last update of this table. On 26 February 2015 new revised tables about the labour force have been published. The revision of the labour force statistics consists of two parts. The definitions will be adjusted to the international standard definitions and data collection is improved by using web interviewing. For more information about this revision, see the link to the press release in paragraph 3.

Description topics

Labour force
The labour force (15-64 years) includes:
- persons who work at least 12 hours a week;
- persons who have accepted work for at least 12 hours a week;
- persons willing to work at least 12 hours a week, who are available and
actively seeking work for at least 12 hours a week.
The employed labour force includes all persons working at least 12 hours
a week.
The unemployed labour force includes all persons unemployed or working
less than 12 hours a week.
Labour position
Classification of the population aged 15-64:
- employed labour force,
- unemployed labour force,
- persons not included in the labour force.
Total labour force
Employed labour force
Person aged 15-64 working at least 12 hours a week.
Unemployed labour force
Persons who have accepted work for at least 12 hours a week , or
willing to work at least 12 hours a week, who are available and
actively seeking work for at least 12 hours a week.
Persons not included in the labour force
Persons not included in the labour force.
Gross labour participation
Labour force as a percentage of the population (15-64 years).
Net labour participation
Employed labour force as a percentage of the population (aged 15-64 yrs).
Percentage unemployed
Unemployed labour force as a percentage of labour force (15-64 yrs).
Employed labour force aged 15-64
Persons working at least 12 hours a week.
Position on the labour market
Persons working at least 12 hours a week.
Total employees
Employee with a permanent job
A person who has an employment contract that is permanent and whose working hours are laid down by contract.

Self-employed
- Persons working in their own business or practice;
- Persons working in their partner's or parents' business or practice;
- Other self-employed, e.g. freelancers.
Position on the labour market unknown
Average hours worked
Relation to the labour market
Distinction between the employed labour force and the unemployed labour
force. The employed labour force is subdivided according to their
availability for the labour market and how actively they have sought work.
Total population aged 15-64 years
Employed >= 12 hours
Registered at employment office
Registered employed labour force
Registered unemployed labour force
Registered not belonging to labour force