Labour participation; key figures

Labour participation; key figures

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 Employed labour force Employed labour force (x 1 000) Labour force Unemployed labour force (x 1 000) Labour force Unemployment rate (%) 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 2023 13,326 10,096 9,737 359 3.6 3,230 75.8 73.1
Total male and female 15 to 74 years 1 Lower education 2023 3,467 2,091 1,971 120 5.7 1,376 60.3 56.9
Total male and female 15 to 74 years 2 Intermediate education 2023 4,935 3,844 3,720 124 3.2 1,091 77.9 75.4
Total male and female 15 to 74 years 3 Higher education 2023 4,848 4,121 4,007 113 2.7 728 85.0 82.7
Total male and female 15 to 74 years Unknown 2023 76 40 39 2 4.0 36 53.1 50.9
Total male and female 15 to 24 years Total 2023 2,169 1,808 1,659 149 8.2 361 83.4 76.5
Total male and female 15 to 24 years 1 Lower education 2023 908 708 630 78 11.0 200 78.0 69.4
Total male and female 15 to 24 years 2 Intermediate education 2023 966 836 782 54 6.5 130 86.5 81.0
Total male and female 15 to 24 years 3 Higher education 2023 293 263 246 17 6.5 30 89.6 83.8
Total male and female 15 to 24 years Unknown 2023 2 1 1 0 . 1 . .
Total male and female 15 to 64 years Total 2023 11,388 9,732 9,387 345 3.5 1,656 85.5 82.4
Total male and female 15 to 64 years 1 Lower education 2023 2,677 1,973 1,857 116 5.9 703 73.7 69.4
Total male and female 15 to 64 years 2 Intermediate education 2023 4,301 3,723 3,603 120 3.2 579 86.5 83.8
Total male and female 15 to 64 years 3 Higher education 2023 4,345 3,996 3,889 107 2.7 349 92.0 89.5
Total male and female 15 to 64 years Unknown 2023 65 40 38 2 3.8 25 61.3 58.9
Total male and female 25 to 44 years Total 2023 4,489 4,044 3,927 117 2.9 445 90.1 87.5
Total male and female 25 to 44 years 1 Lower education 2023 585 436 416 20 4.5 149 74.6 71.2
Total male and female 25 to 44 years 2 Intermediate education 2023 1,535 1,376 1,339 37 2.7 159 89.6 87.2
Total male and female 25 to 44 years 3 Higher education 2023 2,342 2,213 2,153 59 2.7 130 94.5 91.9
Total male and female 25 to 44 years Unknown 2023 27 19 19 1 4.2 7 72.3 69.3
Total male and female 25 to 34 years Total 2023 2,325 2,102 2,031 71 3.4 223 90.4 87.3
Total male and female 25 to 34 years 1 Lower education 2023 249 184 172 12 6.4 66 73.7 69.0
Total male and female 25 to 34 years 2 Intermediate education 2023 803 716 693 23 3.3 87 89.2 86.3
Total male and female 25 to 34 years 3 Higher education 2023 1,261 1,193 1,157 36 3.0 68 94.6 91.7
Total male and female 25 to 34 years Unknown 2023 12 10 10 0 . 2 . .
Total male and female 35 to 44 years Total 2023 2,163 1,942 1,896 46 2.4 222 89.8 87.6
Total male and female 35 to 44 years 1 Lower education 2023 335 252 244 8 3.2 83 75.3 72.8
Total male and female 35 to 44 years 2 Intermediate education 2023 733 660 646 14 2.1 72 90.1 88.2
Total male and female 35 to 44 years 3 Higher education 2023 1,081 1,020 996 23 2.3 61 94.3 92.2
Total male and female 35 to 44 years Unknown 2023 15 10 9 1 . 5 . .
Total male and female 45 to 54 years Total 2023 2,295 2,012 1,976 36 1.8 284 87.6 86.1
Total male and female 45 to 54 years 1 Lower education 2023 457 340 333 7 2.1 116 74.5 73.0
Total male and female 45 to 54 years 2 Intermediate education 2023 869 772 760 12 1.6 97 88.9 87.5
Total male and female 45 to 54 years 3 Higher education 2023 952 890 874 16 1.8 62 93.4 91.7
Total male and female 45 to 54 years Unknown 2023 18 9 9 0 . 8 52.6 51.5
Total male and female 45 to 64 years Total 2023 4,730 3,879 3,801 78 2.0 850 82.0 80.4
Total male and female 45 to 64 years 1 Lower education 2023 1,184 829 810 19 2.3 355 70.0 68.5
Total male and female 45 to 64 years 2 Intermediate education 2023 1,800 1,511 1,482 29 1.9 290 83.9 82.3
Total male and female 45 to 64 years 3 Higher education 2023 1,710 1,520 1,490 30 2.0 189 88.9 87.2
Total male and female 45 to 64 years Unknown 2023 36 19 19 1 3.4 17 53.2 51.3
Total male and female 45 to 74 years Total 2023 6,667 4,243 4,151 92 2.2 2,424 63.6 62.3
Total male and female 45 to 74 years 1 Lower education 2023 1,974 946 925 22 2.3 1,027 47.9 46.8
Total male and female 45 to 74 years 2 Intermediate education 2023 2,433 1,632 1,599 33 2.0 802 67.0 65.7
Total male and female 45 to 74 years 3 Higher education 2023 2,213 1,645 1,609 37 2.2 568 74.4 72.7
Total male and female 45 to 74 years Unknown 2023 47 20 19 1 3.8 27 41.8 40.2
Total male and female 55 to 64 years Total 2023 2,434 1,868 1,825 42 2.3 567 76.7 75.0
Total male and female 55 to 64 years 1 Lower education 2023 727 489 477 11 2.3 238 67.2 65.6
Total male and female 55 to 64 years 2 Intermediate education 2023 932 739 722 16 2.2 193 79.3 77.5
Total male and female 55 to 64 years 3 Higher education 2023 757 631 616 14 2.2 127 83.3 81.4
Total male and female 55 to 64 years Unknown 2023 18 10 9 0 . 8 53.7 51.2
Total male and female 65 to 74 years Total 2023 1,938 364 350 14 3.8 1,574 18.8 18.1
Total male and female 65 to 74 years 1 Lower education 2023 790 117 114 3 2.7 673 14.9 14.5
Total male and female 65 to 74 years 2 Intermediate education 2023 633 121 117 4 3.5 512 19.1 18.4
Total male and female 65 to 74 years 3 Higher education 2023 503 125 119 6 5.0 378 24.8 23.6
Total male and female 65 to 74 years Unknown 2023 11 0 0 0 . 10 . .
Total male and female 15 to 19 years Total 2023 1,009 801 715 85 10.7 208 79.3 70.9
Total male and female 15 to 19 years 1 Lower education 2023 753 584 516 67 11.5 169 77.5 68.5
Total male and female 15 to 19 years 2 Intermediate education 2023 250 212 195 18 8.2 38 84.9 77.9
Total male and female 15 to 19 years 3 Higher education 2023 6 5 4 0 . 1 . .
Total male and female 15 to 19 years Unknown 2023 0 0 0 0 . 0 . .
Total male and female 20 to 24 years Total 2023 1,160 1,007 944 64 6.3 153 86.8 81.3
Total male and female 20 to 24 years 1 Lower education 2023 155 125 114 11 8.5 30 80.4 73.6
Total male and female 20 to 24 years 2 Intermediate education 2023 715 623 587 36 5.8 92 87.1 82.0
Total male and female 20 to 24 years 3 Higher education 2023 288 258 241 17 6.5 30 89.7 83.9
Total male and female 20 to 24 years Unknown 2023 2 1 1 0 . 1 . .
Total male and female 25 to 29 years Total 2023 1,148 1,033 992 41 4.0 114 90.0 86.4
Total male and female 25 to 29 years 1 Lower education 2023 106 76 71 5 7.0 30 71.4 66.4
Total male and female 25 to 29 years 2 Intermediate education 2023 412 366 353 14 3.7 45 89.0 85.6
Total male and female 25 to 29 years 3 Higher education 2023 626 589 567 22 3.8 38 94.0 90.5
Total male and female 25 to 29 years Unknown 2023 3 2 2 0 . 1 . .
Total male and female 30 to 34 years Total 2023 1,178 1,069 1,039 30 2.8 109 90.8 88.2
Total male and female 30 to 34 years 1 Lower education 2023 143 108 101 6 5.9 35 75.3 70.9
Total male and female 30 to 34 years 2 Intermediate education 2023 391 350 340 10 2.8 41 89.4 87.0
Total male and female 30 to 34 years 3 Higher education 2023 635 604 590 14 2.3 31 95.1 93.0
Total male and female 30 to 34 years Unknown 2023 9 7 7 0 . 1 . .
Total male and female 35 to 39 years Total 2023 1,109 996 972 25 2.5 112 89.9 87.6
Total male and female 35 to 39 years 1 Lower education 2023 158 116 111 5 3.9 42 73.2 70.3
Total male and female 35 to 39 years 2 Intermediate education 2023 377 340 333 7 2.0 37 90.1 88.2
Total male and female 35 to 39 years 3 Higher education 2023 565 535 522 13 2.4 30 94.7 92.4
Total male and female 35 to 39 years Unknown 2023 8 6 6 0 . 2 . .
Total male and female 40 to 44 years Total 2023 1,055 946 924 21 2.3 109 89.6 87.6
Total male and female 40 to 44 years 1 Lower education 2023 177 137 133 4 2.6 41 77.1 75.0
Total male and female 40 to 44 years 2 Intermediate education 2023 355 321 313 7 2.2 35 90.2 88.2
Total male and female 40 to 44 years 3 Higher education 2023 516 485 474 10 2.2 31 94.0 92.0
Total male and female 40 to 44 years Unknown 2023 6 4 3 0 . 3 . .
Total male and female 45 to 49 years Total 2023 1,044 929 911 18 1.9 115 89.0 87.2
Total male and female 45 to 49 years 1 Lower education 2023 181 136 132 4 2.9 45 75.1 73.0
Total male and female 45 to 49 years 2 Intermediate education 2023 382 342 336 7 1.9 39 89.7 88.0
Total male and female 45 to 49 years 3 Higher education 2023 475 446 439 8 1.7 28 94.0 92.4
Total male and female 45 to 49 years Unknown 2023 7 4 4 0 . 3 . .
Total male and female 50 to 54 years Total 2023 1,251 1,083 1,065 18 1.6 168 86.5 85.1
Total male and female 50 to 54 years 1 Lower education 2023 276 205 201 3 1.6 71 74.1 72.9
Total male and female 50 to 54 years 2 Intermediate education 2023 487 430 424 6 1.3 57 88.3 87.1
Total male and female 50 to 54 years 3 Higher education 2023 478 443 435 9 1.9 34 92.9 91.1
Total male and female 50 to 54 years Unknown 2023 11 5 5 0 . 6 . .
Total male and female 55 to 59 years Total 2023 1,254 1,049 1,029 20 1.9 204 83.7 82.1
Total male and female 55 to 59 years 1 Lower education 2023 337 249 243 6 2.4 88 73.9 72.1
Total male and female 55 to 59 years 2 Intermediate education 2023 505 436 428 8 1.8 69 86.4 84.8
Total male and female 55 to 59 years 3 Higher education 2023 403 359 353 6 1.7 44 89.1 87.5
Total male and female 55 to 59 years Unknown 2023 9 5 5 0 . 4 . .
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.

Data available from: 2013

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

Changes as of February 14, 2024:
The figures for 4th quarter and years 2023 are 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 on May 15, 2024.

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.