Labour participation; young people

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Sex Age Formal Eduation 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 24 years Total 2,163 1,803 151 8.4 1,652 361 83.3 76.3
In formal education 1,637 1,336 121 9.1 1,215 301 81.6 74.2
Not in formal education 527 467 30 6.5 437 60 88.7 82.9
15 to 19 years Total 1,010 803 95 11.8 709 207 79.5 70.2
In formal education 927 739 88 11.9 651 188 79.7 70.2
Not in formal education 83 64 7 10.5 57 19 77.5 69.4
20 to 24 years Total 1,154 1,000 57 5.7 943 154 86.7 81.7
In formal education 709 597 33 5.5 564 113 84.1 79.4
Not in formal education 444 403 24 5.9 379 41 90.8 85.4
15 years Total 197 139 24 16.9 115 58 70.5 58.6
In formal education 192 137 23 16.9 114 55 71.3 59.3
Not in formal education 4 1 0 . 1 3 . .
16 years Total 198 156 25 15.8 131 42 78.9 66.4
In formal education 194 155 25 15.9 130 39 79.8 67.1
Not in formal education 4 1 0 . 1 3 . .
17 years Total 201 159 19 12.3 139 42 79.2 69.5
In formal education 194 154 19 12.1 135 40 79.4 69.8
Not in formal education 7 5 1 . 4 2 . .
18 years Total 202 166 13 7.6 154 36 82.3 76.1
In formal education 176 146 11 7.4 136 30 82.9 76.8
Not in formal education 26 20 2 . 18 6 . .
19 years Total 213 183 14 7.8 169 30 86.1 79.4
In formal education 171 147 11 7.3 136 24 86.0 79.7
Not in formal education 42 36 4 9.8 33 6 86.5 78.0
20 years Total 219 189 11 5.7 178 30 86.4 81.4
In formal education 163 140 8 5.5 132 23 85.8 81.1
Not in formal education 56 50 3 6.3 46 7 87.8 82.3
21 years Total 228 195 12 6.2 183 33 85.5 80.2
In formal education 171 143 8 5.6 135 27 83.9 79.2
Not in formal education 57 51 4 7.7 48 5 90.4 83.4
22 years Total 234 201 11 5.7 189 33 86.0 81.1
In formal education 144 122 5 4.5 116 23 84.3 80.5
Not in formal education 89 79 6 7.5 73 10 88.8 82.1
23 years Total 237 202 12 5.7 190 35 85.1 80.3
In formal education 131 107 7 6.7 100 24 81.6 76.1
Not in formal education 106 95 4 4.6 90 11 89.6 85.5
24 years Total 236 213 11 5.1 202 23 90.2 85.6
In formal education 101 85 5 5.4 81 15 84.6 80.1
Not in formal education 136 128 6 4.9 122 8 94.4 89.8
Male 15 to 24 years Total 1,103 917 78 8.5 839 186 83.2 76.1
In formal education 820 662 61 9.3 601 158 80.8 73.3
Not in formal education 283 255 17 6.5 238 28 90.1 84.2
15 to 19 years Total 519 409 48 11.7 361 110 78.7 69.5
In formal education 471 372 44 11.8 328 99 78.9 69.6
Not in formal education 48 37 4 10.5 33 11 76.7 68.6
20 to 24 years Total 584 508 30 5.9 478 75 87.1 81.9
In formal education 349 290 17 6.0 273 58 83.3 78.3
Not in formal education 235 218 13 5.8 205 17 92.8 87.4
15 years Total 101 70 13 19.1 57 30 70.0 56.6
In formal education 98 70 13 19.1 57 28 71.3 57.7
Not in formal education 2 0 0 . 0 2 . .
16 years Total 102 76 12 15.5 64 26 74.4 62.8
In formal education 99 75 12 15.6 64 24 75.8 64.0
Not in formal education 2 0 0 . 0 2 . .
17 years Total 104 82 9 10.8 73 22 78.8 70.3
In formal education 100 79 8 10.6 70 21 78.9 70.5
Not in formal education 4 3 0 . 3 1 . .
18 years Total 104 87 6 6.6 81 17 83.6 78.0
In formal education 89 75 4 6.0 70 14 83.9 78.9
Not in formal education 15 12 1 . 11 3 . .
19 years Total 109 94 8 8.6 86 15 86.2 78.8
In formal education 85 73 6 8.2 67 12 86.3 79.2
Not in formal education 25 21 2 . 19 4 . .
20 years Total 112 97 7 6.9 90 15 86.5 80.5
In formal education 79 66 5 6.8 62 12 84.4 78.7
Not in formal education 33 30 2 7.2 28 3 91.6 85.0
21 years Total 115 98 5 5.6 92 18 84.8 80.1
In formal education 80 66 3 5.2 63 14 82.1 77.8
Not in formal education 35 32 2 6.3 30 3 91.0 85.2
22 years Total 118 104 6 5.9 98 14 87.8 82.7
In formal education 69 58 2 3.9 56 11 83.7 80.4
Not in formal education 49 46 4 8.5 42 3 93.7 85.8
23 years Total 120 103 7 6.9 96 17 85.7 79.8
In formal education 69 56 5 8.7 51 13 81.3 74.3
Not in formal education 51 47 2 4.8 45 4 91.6 87.2
24 years Total 119 108 5 4.5 103 11 90.6 86.5
In formal education 52 45 3 5.7 42 8 85.4 80.6
Not in formal education 67 63 2 3.7 61 4 94.7 91.2
Female 15 to 24 years Total 1,061 886 73 8.3 812 175 83.5 76.6
In formal education 817 673 59 8.8 614 143 82.4 75.2
Not in formal education 244 212 14 6.5 199 32 87.1 81.4
15 to 19 years Total 491 394 47 11.8 348 96 80.4 70.8
In formal education 456 367 44 12.0 323 89 80.5 70.9
Not in formal education 35 27 3 . 24 7 78.7 70.6
20 to 24 years Total 570 491 26 5.4 465 79 86.2 81.6
In formal education 361 306 16 5.1 291 54 84.9 80.6
Not in formal education 209 185 11 5.9 174 24 88.4 83.2
15 years Total 96 68 10 14.8 58 28 71.1 60.6
In formal education 94 67 10 14.5 57 27 71.4 61.0
Not in formal education 2 1 0 . 1 1 . .
16 years Total 96 80 13 16.1 67 16 83.7 70.2
In formal education 95 79 13 16.1 67 15 84.0 70.5
Not in formal education 2 1 0 . 1 1 . .
17 years Total 97 77 11 13.8 66 20 79.6 68.6
In formal education 94 75 10 13.7 65 19 80.0 69.0
Not in formal education 3 2 0 . 1 1 . .
18 years Total 98 80 7 8.6 73 19 81.0 74.0
In formal education 87 71 6 8.8 65 16 82.0 74.7
Not in formal education 11 8 1 . 8 3 . .
19 years Total 103 89 6 7.0 83 14 86.0 80.0
Source: CBS.
Explanation of symbols

Table explanation


This table contains quarterly and yearly figures on labour participation of young people in the Netherlands. The population of 15 to 24 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 whether they are in education is available.

Data available from: 2013

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

Changes as of August 13, 2026:
The figures for the 2nd quarter 2026 have been added.

Changes as of August 17, 2022:
None, this is a new table. This table has been compiled on the basis of the Labor Force Survey (LFS). Due to changes in the research design and the questionnaire of the LFS, the figures for 2021 are not automatically comparable with the figures up to and including 2020. The key figures in this table have therefore been made consistent with the (non-seasonally adjusted) figures in the table Arbeidsdeelname, kerncijfers seizoengecorrigeerd (see section 4), in which the outcomes for the period 2013-2020 have been recalculated to align with the outcomes from 2021. When further detailing the outcomes according to job and personal characteristics, there may nevertheless be differences from 2020 to 2021 as a result of the new method.

When will new figures be released?
New figures will be published in November 2026.

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 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.
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.