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

View full table Show description
Sex Personal characteristics Persons employed Average hours worked (hours) Employed labour force aged 15-64 Position on the labour market Employee with a flexible job Total flexible workers (x 1 000) Employed labour force aged 15-64 Position on the labour market Employee with a flexible job Temporary worker (x 1 000) Employed labour force aged 15-64 Working hours 12-19 hours a week (x 1 000) Employed labour force aged 15-64 Working hours 20-34 hours a week (x 1 000) Employed labour force aged 15-64 Working hours >= 35 hours a week (x 1 000) Employed labour force aged 15-64 Working hours Working hours unknown (x 1 000) Employed labour force aged 15-64 Average hours worked (hours) Unemployed labour force Preferred working hours 12-19 hours a week (x 1 000) Unemployed labour force Preferred working hours 20-34 hours a week (x 1 000) Unemployed labour force Preferred working hours >= 35 hours a week (x 1 000) Unemployed labour force Preferred working hours Preferred working hours unknown (x 1 000) Relation to the labour market Seeking paid job >= 12 hours Can begin to work at short notice Total can begin to work at short notice (x 1 000) Relation to the labour market Seeking paid job >= 12 hours Can begin to work at short notice Looked for a job in last 4 weeks (x 1 000) Relation to the labour market Not looking for paid job >=12 hours Raison not looking for paid job>=12hours Unable to work (x 1 000)
Total men and women Total 31.2 1,243 198 639 2,361 4,214 . 34.4 79 247 325 6 947 656 682
Age: 15 to 25 years 18.8 398 44 169 243 283 . 29.2 37 33 48 2 192 121 34
Age: 15 to 20 years 11.2 115 5 75 54 31 . 23.0 22 12 8 . 74 43 15
Age: 20 to 25 years 24.1 283 39 94 189 253 . 31.0 15 22 40 . 118 78 19
Age: 25 to 30 years 33.5 254 43 42 244 507 . 35.2 6 25 46 . 105 78 27
Age: 30 to 35 years 34.3 149 28 42 267 514 . 35.2 4 23 34 . 82 61 27
Age: 35 to 40 years 33.9 109 20 54 272 486 . 34.9 5 25 31 . 81 61 38
Age: 40 to 45 years 33.9 97 19 67 304 564 . 35.1 6 30 38 . 104 74 70
Age: 45 to 50 years 33.8 94 19 78 321 600 . 35.1 6 31 36 . 106 73 82
Age: 50 to 55 years 33.7 74 14 72 302 567 . 35.1 6 32 38 . 107 76 106
Age: 55 to 60 years 32.8 47 9 67 250 444 . 34.4 5 28 34 . 101 67 135
Age: 60 to 65 years 30.7 21 3 48 159 249 . 33.6 4 20 20 . 69 44 163
Age: 25 to 35 years 33.9 403 71 84 511 1,021 . 35.2 10 48 80 . 187 139 54
Age: 35 to 45 years 33.9 206 38 122 576 1,050 . 35.0 10 55 69 . 185 135 108
Age: 45 to 55 years 33.7 168 33 150 623 1,167 . 35.1 12 63 74 . 213 149 188
Age: 55 to 65 years 32.0 68 12 115 409 693 . 34.1 9 47 54 . 170 111 298
Origin: Netherlands 31.3 928 132 515 1,919 3,396 . 34.4 53 163 205 3 607 425 488
Ethnic origin: foreign background 30.9 311 66 124 439 812 . 34.3 26 83 119 2 338 230 194
Origin: western country 31.8 130 28 57 225 418 . 34.5 8 30 37 . 110 76 77
Origin: MOE country 32.3 25 10 6 24 58 . 34.9 . 5 6 . 17 12 8
Origin: western country, other 31.7 105 18 51 200 360 . 34.5 7 24 31 . 93 64 69
Origin: non-western country 30.1 181 38 67 215 394 . 34.0 18 54 82 . 228 154 118
Origin: Suriname 30.8 33 7 13 52 82 . 33.8 3 11 14 . 38 29 24
Origin: Netherlands Antilles or Aruba 30.9 14 2 3 17 32 . 34.4 2 4 8 . 19 14 6
Origin: Turkey 30.4 35 9 12 39 80 . 34.4 4 8 15 . 41 27 33
Origin: Morocco 29.3 32 7 14 32 59 . 33.3 4 9 15 . 41 28 25
Origin: non-western country, other 29.6 68 13 25 74 141 . 34.2 6 21 29 . 88 57 29
Origin unknown 33.0 4 . . 3 6 . 35.3 . . . . 2 . .
Position in household: single person 33.0 238 43 76 307 732 . 35.6 11 47 96 . 219 155 223
Position in household: single parent 30.4 36 6 22 133 108 . 31.8 3 25 14 . 60 42 60
Position in household: parent 33.1 312 56 275 1,106 1,846 . 34.4 22 89 81 . 282 193 147
Pos. in household: partner (non-parent) 33.5 295 49 124 582 1,178 . 35.2 11 54 66 . 185 132 201
Position in household: adult child 23.2 270 35 92 177 264 . 31.5 17 22 54 2 139 95 33
Position in household: underage child 8.3 41 . 34 14 6 . 19.5 13 5 . . 34 20 9
Position in household: other member 29.0 50 9 15 42 79 . 33.9 2 4 12 . 28 18 9
Education level: primary 26.5 63 14 40 91 181 . 33.9 11 19 31 . 104 61 165
Education level: vmbo, mbo1, avo 27.2 219 38 145 315 570 . 33.1 23 48 72 . 219 144 186
Education level: avo - first stage 21.6 69 8 57 105 126 . 30.7 9 14 14 . 61 37 41
Education level: havo, vwo, mbo 30.9 546 96 322 1,041 1,740 . 33.9 34 118 144 3 425 299 238
Education level: mbo 2 or 3 32.6 223 47 123 447 790 . 34.3 11 52 72 . 191 136 131
Education level: mbo 4 32.7 176 26 104 411 697 . 34.6 10 40 45 . 129 96 63
Education level: havo, vwo. 24.6 147 22 95 184 253 . 31.5 13 27 27 . 106 67 44
Education level:hbo, university bachelor 33.2 241 30 97 586 969 . 34.7 9 38 46 . 120 93 56
Education level: university 35.6 157 16 31 305 710 . 36.5 2 20 27 . 64 49 18
Education level: unknown 33.0 16 4 5 23 44 . 35.3 . 3 6 . 14 9 19
Men Total 36.2 629 126 135 587 3,259 . 38.9 21 71 245 3 453 340 252
Age: 15 to 25 years 20.4 191 27 74 99 190 . 31.5 14 12 26 . 91 53 15
Age: 15 to 20 years 12.2 57 4 31 29 23 . 25.9 9 6 5 . 36 20 7
Age: 20 to 25 years 26.0 135 23 43 70 166 . 33.2 5 6 21 . 55 33 7
Age: 25 to 30 years 36.7 126 28 13 63 333 . 38.2 3 8 35 . 58 46 10
Age: 30 to 35 years 39.0 79 18 5 55 378 . 39.4 . 6 27 . 42 34 9
Age: 35 to 40 years 39.8 57 13 5 51 381 . 40.1 . 6 24 . 36 31 15
Age: 40 to 45 years 40.3 49 11 5 54 454 . 40.6 . 7 31 . 48 39 23
Age: 45 to 50 years 40.0 47 12 6 64 485 . 40.5 . 5 28 . 41 33 32
Age: 50 to 55 years 39.7 39 10 6 63 457 . 40.4 . 7 30 . 47 38 38
Age: 55 to 60 years 38.8 27 6 8 68 368 . 39.4 . 9 28 . 50 38 47
Age: 60 to 65 years 35.7 14 3 12 70 213 . 37.4 . 10 17 . 40 28 62
Age: 25 to 35 years 37.8 205 46 18 119 710 . 38.8 4 13 62 . 100 80 19
Age: 35 to 45 years 40.1 105 23 10 104 836 . 40.4 . 13 55 . 84 70 39
Age: 45 to 55 years 39.9 86 21 12 127 942 . 40.5 . 12 57 . 88 71 70
Age: 55 to 65 years 37.5 41 9 21 138 582 . 38.6 2 19 45 . 90 66 109
Origin: Netherlands 36.6 464 83 99 456 2,666 . 39.2 13 46 161 2 293 222 178
Ethnic origin: foreign background 34.8 162 43 36 129 590 . 37.8 8 24 84 . 159 117 73
Origin: western country 36.0 64 17 14 60 296 . 38.3 2 8 25 . 46 35 27
Origin: MOE country 35.4 11 5 2 6 37 . 37.6 . . 2 . 4 3 2
Origin: western country, other 36.1 53 12 12 54 259 . 38.4 2 7 23 . 42 32 25
Origin: non-western country 33.7 99 26 21 68 294 . 37.4 6 16 59 . 113 82 47
Origin: Suriname 33.7 17 5 4 15 53 . 36.7 . 3 9 . 18 14 9
Origin: Netherlands Antilles or Aruba 34.1 8 2 . 5 22 . 37.4 . . 6 . 10 8 2
Origin: Turkey 34.4 20 6 4 14 66 . 37.8 . 2 11 . 20 14 12
Origin: Morocco 34.1 18 5 4 10 51 . 37.3 2 3 11 . 21 15 10
Origin: non-western country, other 33.2 36 9 8 24 102 . 37.6 2 7 21 . 44 31 13
Origin unknown . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Position in household: single person 35.6 128 30 31 119 506 . 37.8 5 24 77 . 146 107 97
Position in household: single parent 38.2 5 . . 11 50 . 38.8 . 2 5 . 8 7 6
Position in household: parent 40.2 161 35 15 196 1,595 . 40.6 . 14 69 . 101 84 53
Pos. in household: partner (non-parent) 38.2 137 28 22 149 846 . 39.1 2 17 49 . 84 68 69
Position in household: adult child 26.0 154 26 44 89 204 . 33.8 7 10 36 . 79 54 17
Position in household: underage child 8.6 19 . 14 8 5 . 21.9 5 3 . . 17 9 5
Position in household: other member 31.5 25 6 8 15 55 . 36.2 . . 9 . 17 11 5
Education level: primary 31.5 38 11 9 32 155 . 38.5 4 7 25 . 56 36 62
Education level: vmbo, mbo1, avo 33.1 127 30 31 96 493 . 38.2 7 14 57 . 107 78 66
Education level: avo - first stage 25.8 35 4 14 27 96 . 36.4 3 4 9 . 25 16 12
Education level: havo, vwo, mbo 36.5 284 61 68 247 1,406 . 39.0 8 31 110 . 199 151 90
Education level: mbo 2 or 3 38.6 124 34 16 105 655 . 39.6 2 12 56 . 90 70 53
Education level: mbo 4 38.9 83 15 13 78 558 . 40.3 2 9 34 . 57 46 22
Education level: havo, vwo. 28.1 77 13 39 64 193 . 34.9 5 10 20 . 52 35 15
Education level:hbo, university bachelor 37.9 101 14 17 124 689 . 39.0 2 11 32 . 53 45 19
Education level: university 38.7 68 7 8 78 484 . 39.4 . 7 17 . 30 25 6
Education level: unknown 37.1 11 3 . 10 33 . 38.5 . . 5 . 7 5 8
Women Total 25.5 614 72 504 1,775 955 . 28.7 57 176 79 3 494 316 431
Age: 15 to 25 years 17.2 207 17 95 143 94 . 26.6 23 21 22 . 100 68 20
Age: 15 to 20 years 10.1 58 . 44 25 7 . 19.9 13 6 4 . 38 23 8
Age: 20 to 25 years 22.1 148 16 51 118 86 . 28.6 10 16 19 . 63 45 12
Age: 25 to 30 years 30.1 128 15 29 180 174 . 32.0 3 18 12 . 47 32 17
Age: 30 to 35 years 29.2 70 10 36 211 136 . 30.4 3 17 7 . 40 27 18
Age: 35 to 40 years 27.3 52 7 49 221 104 . 28.7 4 19 7 . 45 30 22
Age: 40 to 45 years 26.7 48 8 63 250 110 . 28.4 5 23 7 . 56 35 47
Age: 45 to 50 years 26.6 47 8 73 258 116 . 28.4 5 26 8 . 64 40 50
Age: 50 to 55 years 26.5 35 4 65 239 110 . 28.4 5 25 8 . 61 38 68
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

Persons employed
Persons employed are all persons having paid jobs.
Average hours worked
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.
Employee with a flexible job
A person who has an employment contract that is of limited duration or whose number of
working hours are not laid down by contract.
These are:
Employee with a temporary contract and a permanent job in prospect and whose working hours are laid down by contract
Employee with a temporary contract of 1 year or more and whose working hours are laid down by contract
Employee with other temporary contracts and whose working hours are laid down by contract
Stand-by employee/Substitute employee
Temporary worker
Employee with a permanent contract whose working hours are not laid down by contract
Employee with a temporary contract whose working hours are not laid down by contract

Total flexible workers
Temporary worker
A person who is registered at a temporary employment agency who has a contract with this agency to work on a temporary basis for others.
Working hours
The number of working hours in an average working week.
12-19 hours a week
20-34 hours a week
>= 35 hours a week
Working hours unknown
Average hours worked
Unemployed labour force
All persons unemployed or working less than 12 hours a week who have
accepted work and are going to work at least 12 hours a week or are
prepared to work at least 12 hours a week, who are available and actively
seeking work for at least 12 hours a week.
Preferred working hours
The unemployed labour force by number of hours they are prepared to work
each week.
12-19 hours a week
20-34 hours a week
>= 35 hours a week
Preferred working hours unknown
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.
Seeking paid job >= 12 hours
Can begin to work at short notice
Total can begin to work at short notice
Looked for a job in last 4 weeks
Not looking for paid job >=12 hours
Raison not looking for paid job>=12hours
Unable to work