Labour participation; key figures, 2003-2022

Labour participation; key figures, 2003-2022

Sex Age Highest educational level Periods Labour force and not in the labour force (x 1 000) Labour force Labour force (x 1 000) Labour force Unemployed labour force (x 1 000) Labour force Unemployment rate (%) Labour force Employed labour force Employed labour force (x 1 000) Not in the labour force (x 1 000) Gross labour participation rate (%) Net labour participation rate (%)
Total male and female 15 to 74 years Total 2022 1st quarter 13,175 9,768 356 3.6 9,412 3,407 74.1 71.4
Total male and female 15 to 74 years 1 Lower education 2022 1st quarter 3,394 1,934 115 5.9 1,819 1,460 57.0 53.6
Total male and female 15 to 74 years 2 Intermediate education 2022 1st quarter 4,883 3,742 128 3.4 3,614 1,141 76.6 74.0
Total male and female 15 to 74 years 3 Higher education 2022 1st quarter 4,804 4,038 111 2.7 3,928 766 84.1 81.8
Total male and female 15 to 74 years Unknown 2022 1st quarter 94 54 2 3.8 52 40 57.2 55.0
Total male and female 15 to 24 years Total 2022 1st quarter 2,137 1,708 130 7.6 1,578 429 79.9 73.9
Total male and female 15 to 24 years 1 Lower education 2022 1st quarter 900 668 65 9.7 604 232 74.2 67.0
Total male and female 15 to 24 years 2 Intermediate education 2022 1st quarter 943 787 52 6.6 735 157 83.4 77.9
Total male and female 15 to 24 years 3 Higher education 2022 1st quarter 292 252 13 5.1 239 40 86.3 81.9
Total male and female 15 to 24 years Unknown 2022 1st quarter 1 1 0 . 1 0 . .
Total male and female 15 to 64 years Total 2022 1st quarter 11,241 9,460 337 3.6 9,123 1,781 84.2 81.2
Total male and female 15 to 64 years 1 Lower education 2022 1st quarter 2,599 1,845 108 5.8 1,737 754 71.0 66.8
Total male and female 15 to 64 years 2 Intermediate education 2022 1st quarter 4,254 3,632 124 3.4 3,509 622 85.4 82.5
Total male and female 15 to 64 years 3 Higher education 2022 1st quarter 4,308 3,931 104 2.6 3,827 378 91.2 88.8
Total male and female 15 to 64 years Unknown 2022 1st quarter 79 52 2 3.4 50 27 65.6 63.3
Total male and female 25 to 44 years Total 2022 1st quarter 4,356 3,905 118 3.0 3,787 451 89.6 86.9
Total male and female 25 to 44 years 1 Lower education 2022 1st quarter 508 373 21 5.6 352 135 73.5 69.4
Total male and female 25 to 44 years 2 Intermediate education 2022 1st quarter 1,476 1,314 37 2.9 1,277 162 89.0 86.5
Total male and female 25 to 44 years 3 Higher education 2022 1st quarter 2,342 2,195 59 2.7 2,136 148 93.7 91.2
Total male and female 25 to 44 years Unknown 2022 1st quarter 30 23 1 . 22 7 . .
Total male and female 25 to 34 years Total 2022 1st quarter 2,259 2,057 76 3.7 1,981 202 91.0 87.7
Total male and female 25 to 34 years 1 Lower education 2022 1st quarter 206 152 10 6.8 142 53 74.0 69.0
Total male and female 25 to 34 years 2 Intermediate education 2022 1st quarter 751 675 24 3.6 651 75 90.0 86.7
Total male and female 25 to 34 years 3 Higher education 2022 1st quarter 1,288 1,217 41 3.3 1,176 71 94.5 91.3
Total male and female 25 to 34 years Unknown 2022 1st quarter 15 12 0 . 12 3 . .
Total male and female 35 to 44 years Total 2022 1st quarter 2,097 1,848 42 2.3 1,806 249 88.1 86.1
Total male and female 35 to 44 years 1 Lower education 2022 1st quarter 302 221 10 4.7 211 81 73.1 69.7
Total male and female 35 to 44 years 2 Intermediate education 2022 1st quarter 726 639 13 2.1 626 87 88.0 86.2
Total male and female 35 to 44 years 3 Higher education 2022 1st quarter 1,055 978 18 1.8 960 77 92.7 91.0
Total male and female 35 to 44 years Unknown 2022 1st quarter 15 11 0 . 10 4 . .
Total male and female 45 to 54 years Total 2022 1st quarter 2,345 2,059 39 1.9 2,020 287 87.8 86.1
Total male and female 45 to 54 years 1 Lower education 2022 1st quarter 473 346 7 2.0 339 126 73.3 71.8
Total male and female 45 to 54 years 2 Intermediate education 2022 1st quarter 901 805 17 2.1 788 96 89.4 87.5
Total male and female 45 to 54 years 3 Higher education 2022 1st quarter 946 891 14 1.6 877 55 94.2 92.7
Total male and female 45 to 54 years Unknown 2022 1st quarter 26 16 1 . 16 10 . .
Total male and female 45 to 64 years Total 2022 1st quarter 4,748 3,847 90 2.3 3,757 901 81.0 79.1
Total male and female 45 to 64 years 1 Lower education 2022 1st quarter 1,191 803 22 2.8 781 388 67.4 65.6
Total male and female 45 to 64 years 2 Intermediate education 2022 1st quarter 1,834 1,532 34 2.2 1,497 302 83.5 81.6
Total male and female 45 to 64 years 3 Higher education 2022 1st quarter 1,675 1,484 32 2.2 1,452 190 88.6 86.7
Total male and female 45 to 64 years Unknown 2022 1st quarter 49 28 1 . 27 20 57.9 56.1
Total male and female 45 to 74 years Total 2022 1st quarter 6,683 4,155 108 2.6 4,047 2,528 62.2 60.6
Total male and female 45 to 74 years 1 Lower education 2022 1st quarter 1,986 893 30 3.3 863 1,094 44.9 43.5
Total male and female 45 to 74 years 2 Intermediate education 2022 1st quarter 2,463 1,641 38 2.3 1,602 822 66.6 65.1
Total male and female 45 to 74 years 3 Higher education 2022 1st quarter 2,170 1,592 39 2.4 1,553 578 73.3 71.6
Total male and female 45 to 74 years Unknown 2022 1st quarter 63 30 1 . 29 33 47.3 45.4
Total male and female 55 to 64 years Total 2022 1st quarter 2,403 1,789 51 2.8 1,738 614 74.4 72.3
Total male and female 55 to 64 years 1 Lower education 2022 1st quarter 719 457 15 3.4 442 262 63.6 61.5
Total male and female 55 to 64 years 2 Intermediate education 2022 1st quarter 933 727 17 2.4 709 207 77.8 76.0
Total male and female 55 to 64 years 3 Higher education 2022 1st quarter 728 593 18 3.0 575 135 81.4 79.0
Total male and female 55 to 64 years Unknown 2022 1st quarter 23 12 0 . 12 11 . .
Total male and female 65 to 74 years Total 2022 1st quarter 1,934 308 18 6.0 290 1,626 15.9 15.0
Total male and female 65 to 74 years 1 Lower education 2022 1st quarter 795 89 7 8.2 82 706 11.2 10.3
Total male and female 65 to 74 years 2 Intermediate education 2022 1st quarter 629 109 4 3.7 105 520 17.4 16.7
Total male and female 65 to 74 years 3 Higher education 2022 1st quarter 496 108 7 6.2 101 388 21.7 20.4
Total male and female 65 to 74 years Unknown 2022 1st quarter 14 2 0 . 1 13 . .
Total male and female 15 to 19 years Total 2022 1st quarter 1,016 767 75 9.8 692 249 75.5 68.1
Total male and female 15 to 19 years 1 Lower education 2022 1st quarter 753 553 58 10.4 495 200 73.4 65.7
Total male and female 15 to 19 years 2 Intermediate education 2022 1st quarter 254 208 17 8.1 191 47 81.7 75.1
Total male and female 15 to 19 years 3 Higher education 2022 1st quarter 7 5 0 . 5 2 . .
Total male and female 15 to 19 years Unknown 2022 1st quarter 1 1 0 . 1 0 . .
Total male and female 20 to 24 years Total 2022 1st quarter 1,121 941 55 5.8 886 180 83.9 79.0
Total male and female 20 to 24 years 1 Lower education 2022 1st quarter 147 115 7 6.1 108 32 78.5 73.8
Total male and female 20 to 24 years 2 Intermediate education 2022 1st quarter 689 579 35 6.1 544 110 84.0 78.9
Total male and female 20 to 24 years 3 Higher education 2022 1st quarter 285 247 13 5.2 234 38 86.6 82.2
Total male and female 20 to 24 years Unknown 2022 1st quarter 0 0 0 . 0 0 . .
Total male and female 25 to 29 years Total 2022 1st quarter 1,121 1,026 40 3.9 986 95 91.5 87.9
Total male and female 25 to 29 years 1 Lower education 2022 1st quarter 89 65 5 8.3 60 24 73.0 66.9
Total male and female 25 to 29 years 2 Intermediate education 2022 1st quarter 372 338 11 3.3 327 34 90.8 87.8
Total male and female 25 to 29 years 3 Higher education 2022 1st quarter 652 616 23 3.8 593 36 94.5 91.0
Total male and female 25 to 29 years Unknown 2022 1st quarter 7 6 0 . 6 1 . .
Total male and female 30 to 34 years Total 2022 1st quarter 1,138 1,030 36 3.4 995 107 90.6 87.5
Total male and female 30 to 34 years 1 Lower education 2022 1st quarter 116 87 5 5.7 82 29 74.8 70.6
Total male and female 30 to 34 years 2 Intermediate education 2022 1st quarter 378 337 13 3.8 324 41 89.1 85.7
Total male and female 30 to 34 years 3 Higher education 2022 1st quarter 636 600 17 2.9 583 35 94.5 91.7
Total male and female 30 to 34 years Unknown 2022 1st quarter 8 6 0 . 6 2 . .
Total male and female 35 to 39 years Total 2022 1st quarter 1,062 945 24 2.6 921 117 89.0 86.7
Total male and female 35 to 39 years 1 Lower education 2022 1st quarter 137 99 6 6.3 92 38 72.1 67.5
Total male and female 35 to 39 years 2 Intermediate education 2022 1st quarter 349 306 5 1.7 301 43 87.6 86.1
Total male and female 35 to 39 years 3 Higher education 2022 1st quarter 567 535 13 2.3 522 32 94.3 92.1
Total male and female 35 to 39 years Unknown 2022 1st quarter 9 6 0 . 6 3 . .
Total male and female 40 to 44 years Total 2022 1st quarter 1,035 903 18 2.0 885 132 87.2 85.5
Total male and female 40 to 44 years 1 Lower education 2022 1st quarter 165 122 4 3.4 118 43 74.0 71.5
Total male and female 40 to 44 years 2 Intermediate education 2022 1st quarter 377 333 8 2.4 325 43 88.5 86.3
Total male and female 40 to 44 years 3 Higher education 2022 1st quarter 488 443 6 1.2 437 45 90.9 89.7
Total male and female 40 to 44 years Unknown 2022 1st quarter 6 5 0 . 4 1 . .
Total male and female 45 to 49 years Total 2022 1st quarter 1,075 955 14 1.5 940 120 88.8 87.5
Total male and female 45 to 49 years 1 Lower education 2022 1st quarter 194 139 2 1.4 137 55 71.7 70.7
Total male and female 45 to 49 years 2 Intermediate education 2022 1st quarter 392 359 7 1.8 352 33 91.5 89.8
Total male and female 45 to 49 years 3 Higher education 2022 1st quarter 477 450 6 1.2 445 27 94.4 93.2
Total male and female 45 to 49 years Unknown 2022 1st quarter 12 7 0 . 6 5 . .
Total male and female 50 to 54 years Total 2022 1st quarter 1,271 1,104 25 2.2 1,080 167 86.9 85.0
Total male and female 50 to 54 years 1 Lower education 2022 1st quarter 279 207 5 2.4 202 71 74.4 72.6
Total male and female 50 to 54 years 2 Intermediate education 2022 1st quarter 508 446 11 2.4 436 62 87.8 85.7
Total male and female 50 to 54 years 3 Higher education 2022 1st quarter 469 441 9 2.0 432 28 94.0 92.1
Total male and female 50 to 54 years Unknown 2022 1st quarter 14 10 0 . 9 5 . .
Total male and female 55 to 59 years Total 2022 1st quarter 1,253 1,031 25 2.4 1,006 223 82.2 80.3
Total male and female 55 to 59 years 1 Lower education 2022 1st quarter 336 237 8 3.3 229 99 70.5 68.2
Total male and female 55 to 59 years 2 Intermediate education 2022 1st quarter 508 434 9 2.2 424 74 85.4 83.6
Total male and female 55 to 59 years 3 Higher education 2022 1st quarter 396 352 7 2.1 345 44 88.9 87.0
Total male and female 55 to 59 years Unknown 2022 1st quarter 13 8 0 . 8 5 . .
Source: CBS.
Explanation of symbols

Dataset is not available.


This table contains quarterly and yearly figures on labour participation in the Netherlands. The population of 15 to 74 years of age (excluding the institutionalized population) is divided into the employed labour force, the unemployed labour force and those not in the labour force. The employed labour force is subdivided on the basis of the professional status, and the average working hours. A division by sex, age and level of education is available.

Due to changes in the survey design and the questionnaire of the Labour Force Survey (LFS), a revision of the figures for 2021 was carried out in the first quarter of 2022.
As a result, the numbers of 2021 and later will not be comparable to the years 2003-2020.

Data available from: 2003-2022

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

Changes as of Januariy 16, 2023:
The periods were still indicated in Dutch. That has been converted to English.

Changes as of August 17, 2022:
None, the table has been discontinued.

When will new figures be released?
Not applicable. This table has been replaced, see paragraph 3 for a link to the new table.

Description topics

Labour force and not in the labour force
People who are part of the employed labour force, the unemployed labour force or who are not in the labour force.

This definition concerns people who live in the Netherlands (excluding the institutionalized population). The figures are usually presented for the population aged 15 to 75 years old. Paid work is regardless of the hours worked.

Labour force
People
- who have paid work (employed labour force), or
- who don’t have paid work, recently looked for work and are directly available for it (unemployed labour force).

This definition concerns people who live in the Netherlands (excluding the institutionalized population). The figures are usually presented for the population aged 15 to 74 years old. Paid work is regardless of the hours worked.
Labour force
People
- who have paid work (employed labour force), or
- who don’t have paid work, recently looked for work and are directly available for it (unemployed labour force).

This definition concerns people who live in the Netherlands (excluding the institutionalized population). The figures are usually presented for the population aged 15 to 74 years old. Paid work is regardless of the hours worked.

Employed labour force
People who have paid work.

This definition concerns people who live in the Netherlands (excluding the institutionalized population). The figures are usually presented for the population aged 15 to 74 years old. Paid work is regardless of the hours worked.
Employed labour force
People who have paid work.

This definition concerns people who live in the Netherlands (excluding the institutionalized population). The figures are usually presented for the population aged 15 to 74 years old. Paid work is regardless of the hours worked.
Unemployed labour force
People who don’t have paid work, recently looked for work and are directly available for it.

This definition concerns people who live in the Netherlands (excluding the institutionalized population). The figures are usually presented for the population aged 15 to 74 years old. Paid work is regardless of the hours worked.

Unemployment rate
The unemployed labour force as a percentage of the (employed and unemployed) labour force.

This definition concerns people who live in the Netherlands (excluding the institutionalized population). The figures are usually presented for the population aged 15 to 74 years old.
Not in the labour force
People who don’t have paid work, who haven’t recently looked for work recently or are not directly available for it.

This definition concerns people who live in the Netherlands (excluding the institutionalized population). The figures are usually presented for the population aged 15 to 74 years old. Paid work is regardless of the hours worked.

Gross labour participation rate
The percentage of the (employed and unemployed) labour force in the population (labour force and not in the labour force).

This definition concerns people who live in the Netherlands (excluding the institutionalized population). The figures are usually presented for the population aged 15 to 74 years old.
Net labour participation rate
The percentage of the employed labour force in the population (labour force and not in the labour force).

This definition concerns people who live in the Netherlands (excluding the institutionalized population). The figures are usually presented for the population aged 15 to 74 years old.