Labour participation; key figures

Edit table Download table Show description

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 2022 13,228 9,898 9,548 350 3.5 3,330 74.8 72.2
Total male and female 15 to 74 years 1 Lower education 2022 3,364 1,963 1,851 112 5.7 1,401 58.3 55.0
Total male and female 15 to 74 years 2 Intermediate education 2022 4,925 3,789 3,665 124 3.3 1,136 76.9 74.4
Total male and female 15 to 74 years 3 Higher education 2022 4,846 4,095 3,984 111 2.7 752 84.5 82.2
Total male and female 15 to 74 years Unknown 2022 93 52 49 3 5.7 41 55.8 52.6
Total male and female 15 to 24 years Total 2022 2,147 1,755 1,621 134 7.6 392 81.8 75.5
Total male and female 15 to 24 years 1 Lower education 2022 881 672 605 68 10.1 209 76.3 68.6
Total male and female 15 to 24 years 2 Intermediate education 2022 965 819 768 51 6.2 146 84.9 79.6
Total male and female 15 to 24 years 3 Higher education 2022 299 263 247 16 5.9 37 87.7 82.5
Total male and female 15 to 24 years Unknown 2022 1 1 1 0 . 0 . .
Total male and female 15 to 64 years Total 2022 11,294 9,569 9,234 335 3.5 1,725 84.7 81.8
Total male and female 15 to 64 years 1 Lower education 2022 2,582 1,862 1,755 108 5.8 720 72.1 67.9
Total male and female 15 to 64 years 2 Intermediate education 2022 4,283 3,677 3,557 120 3.3 606 85.9 83.1
Total male and female 15 to 64 years 3 Higher education 2022 4,350 3,980 3,875 105 2.7 370 91.5 89.1
Total male and female 15 to 64 years Unknown 2022 79 50 47 3 5.5 29 63.3 59.8
Total male and female 25 to 44 years Total 2022 4,400 3,953 3,840 113 2.9 447 89.8 87.3
Total male and female 25 to 44 years 1 Lower education 2022 530 392 373 19 4.8 138 73.9 70.4
Total male and female 25 to 44 years 2 Intermediate education 2022 1,492 1,331 1,295 36 2.7 162 89.2 86.8
Total male and female 25 to 44 years 3 Higher education 2022 2,349 2,209 2,152 57 2.6 140 94.0 91.6
Total male and female 25 to 44 years Unknown 2022 28 21 20 1 7.1 7 74.9 69.6
Total male and female 25 to 34 years Total 2022 2,280 2,063 1,994 69 3.3 218 90.5 87.4
Total male and female 25 to 34 years 1 Lower education 2022 225 162 152 10 6.1 63 72.0 67.6
Total male and female 25 to 34 years 2 Intermediate education 2022 763 684 661 22 3.3 79 89.6 86.7
Total male and female 25 to 34 years 3 Higher education 2022 1,279 1,207 1,171 36 3.0 72 94.4 91.5
Total male and female 25 to 34 years Unknown 2022 13 10 9 1 . 3 . .
Total male and female 35 to 44 years Total 2022 2,119 1,890 1,846 44 2.3 230 89.2 87.1
Total male and female 35 to 44 years 1 Lower education 2022 305 230 221 9 3.8 75 75.3 72.4
Total male and female 35 to 44 years 2 Intermediate education 2022 729 647 634 13 2.1 82 88.7 86.9
Total male and female 35 to 44 years 3 Higher education 2022 1,070 1,002 981 21 2.1 68 93.6 91.7
Total male and female 35 to 44 years Unknown 2022 15 12 11 1 . 4 76.0 69.6
Total male and female 45 to 54 years Total 2022 2,333 2,044 2,007 37 1.8 289 87.6 86.0
Total male and female 45 to 54 years 1 Lower education 2022 455 331 323 7 2.2 124 72.7 71.1
Total male and female 45 to 54 years 2 Intermediate education 2022 897 802 788 14 1.7 95 89.4 87.8
Total male and female 45 to 54 years 3 Higher education 2022 954 895 879 15 1.7 59 93.8 92.2
Total male and female 45 to 54 years Unknown 2022 27 17 16 1 3.3 10 61.8 59.7
Total male and female 45 to 64 years Total 2022 4,747 3,861 3,773 89 2.3 886 81.3 79.5
Total male and female 45 to 64 years 1 Lower education 2022 1,171 798 777 21 2.7 373 68.1 66.3
Total male and female 45 to 64 years 2 Intermediate education 2022 1,825 1,527 1,494 33 2.2 299 83.6 81.8
Total male and female 45 to 64 years 3 Higher education 2022 1,701 1,509 1,475 33 2.2 193 88.7 86.7
Total male and female 45 to 64 years Unknown 2022 49 28 27 1 4.1 22 56.2 53.9
Total male and female 45 to 74 years Total 2022 6,681 4,190 4,087 104 2.5 2,491 62.7 61.2
Total male and female 45 to 74 years 1 Lower education 2022 1,953 899 873 26 2.9 1,054 46.0 44.7
Total male and female 45 to 74 years 2 Intermediate education 2022 2,467 1,639 1,601 38 2.3 829 66.4 64.9
Total male and female 45 to 74 years 3 Higher education 2022 2,197 1,623 1,584 39 2.4 574 73.9 72.1
Total male and female 45 to 74 years Unknown 2022 63 30 28 1 4.7 34 46.8 44.7
Total male and female 55 to 64 years Total 2022 2,414 1,817 1,766 52 2.8 597 75.3 73.1
Total male and female 55 to 64 years 1 Lower education 2022 716 467 453 14 3.0 249 65.3 63.3
Total male and female 55 to 64 years 2 Intermediate education 2022 928 725 706 19 2.7 203 78.1 76.0
Total male and female 55 to 64 years 3 Higher education 2022 748 614 596 18 2.9 133 82.1 79.7
Total male and female 55 to 64 years Unknown 2022 22 11 10 1 . 11 49.5 46.8
Total male and female 65 to 74 years Total 2022 1,934 329 314 15 4.5 1,605 17.0 16.2
Total male and female 65 to 74 years 1 Lower education 2022 782 101 96 4 4.4 681 12.9 12.3
Total male and female 65 to 74 years 2 Intermediate education 2022 642 112 107 5 4.3 530 17.4 16.7
Total male and female 65 to 74 years 3 Higher education 2022 496 114 109 5 4.7 382 23.1 22.0
Total male and female 65 to 74 years Unknown 2022 14 2 2 0 . 12 . .
Total male and female 15 to 19 years Total 2022 1,014 788 710 79 10.0 226 77.7 70.0
Total male and female 15 to 19 years 1 Lower education 2022 738 560 499 60 10.7 179 75.8 67.6
Total male and female 15 to 19 years 2 Intermediate education 2022 268 223 205 18 8.1 45 83.1 76.3
Total male and female 15 to 19 years 3 Higher education 2022 7 5 5 0 . 2 . .
Total male and female 15 to 19 years Unknown 2022 0 0 0 0 . 0 . .
Total male and female 20 to 24 years Total 2022 1,133 967 912 55 5.7 166 85.4 80.5
Total male and female 20 to 24 years 1 Lower education 2022 143 113 105 7 6.6 30 79.0 73.7
Total male and female 20 to 24 years 2 Intermediate education 2022 696 596 564 33 5.5 100 85.6 80.9
Total male and female 20 to 24 years 3 Higher education 2022 292 257 242 15 5.9 35 87.9 82.8
Total male and female 20 to 24 years Unknown 2022 1 1 1 0 . 0 . .
Total male and female 25 to 29 years Total 2022 1,129 1,019 978 41 4.0 111 90.2 86.6
Total male and female 25 to 29 years 1 Lower education 2022 97 66 61 6 8.4 31 68.2 62.5
Total male and female 25 to 29 years 2 Intermediate education 2022 389 348 334 14 4.1 41 89.5 85.9
Total male and female 25 to 29 years 3 Higher education 2022 639 601 580 21 3.5 38 94.1 90.8
Total male and female 25 to 29 years Unknown 2022 5 3 3 0 . 1 . .
Total male and female 30 to 34 years Total 2022 1,151 1,044 1,016 28 2.7 107 90.7 88.3
Total male and female 30 to 34 years 1 Lower education 2022 128 96 92 4 4.5 32 75.0 71.6
Total male and female 30 to 34 years 2 Intermediate education 2022 374 336 328 8 2.5 38 89.8 87.5
Total male and female 30 to 34 years 3 Higher education 2022 640 606 591 15 2.5 34 94.6 92.3
Total male and female 30 to 34 years Unknown 2022 8 6 6 0 . 2 . .
Total male and female 35 to 39 years Total 2022 1,077 964 940 23 2.4 113 89.5 87.3
Total male and female 35 to 39 years 1 Lower education 2022 147 109 104 5 4.6 37 74.5 71.1
Total male and female 35 to 39 years 2 Intermediate education 2022 355 315 309 6 2.0 41 88.6 86.8
Total male and female 35 to 39 years 3 Higher education 2022 566 533 521 12 2.2 33 94.2 92.1
Total male and female 35 to 39 years Unknown 2022 9 7 6 0 . 2 . .
Total male and female 40 to 44 years Total 2022 1,042 926 906 20 2.2 116 88.9 86.9
Total male and female 40 to 44 years 1 Lower education 2022 158 120 116 4 3.2 38 76.1 73.7
Total male and female 40 to 44 years 2 Intermediate education 2022 374 332 325 7 2.2 42 88.8 86.9
Total male and female 40 to 44 years 3 Higher education 2022 504 469 460 9 1.9 35 93.0 91.3
Total male and female 40 to 44 years Unknown 2022 6 5 4 1 . 1 . .
Total male and female 45 to 49 years Total 2022 1,064 943 928 16 1.7 120 88.7 87.2
Total male and female 45 to 49 years 1 Lower education 2022 177 129 126 3 2.3 48 72.9 71.3
Total male and female 45 to 49 years 2 Intermediate education 2022 394 357 351 6 1.6 38 90.4 89.0
Total male and female 45 to 49 years 3 Higher education 2022 481 451 444 7 1.5 30 93.8 92.3
Total male and female 45 to 49 years Unknown 2022 12 7 7 0 . 5 . .
Total male and female 50 to 54 years Total 2022 1,269 1,101 1,079 21 1.9 169 86.7 85.0
Total male and female 50 to 54 years 1 Lower education 2022 278 202 198 4 2.2 76 72.5 70.9
Total male and female 50 to 54 years 2 Intermediate education 2022 503 445 437 8 1.8 57 88.6 86.9
Total male and female 50 to 54 years 3 Higher education 2022 473 444 435 8 1.9 29 93.9 92.1
Total male and female 50 to 54 years Unknown 2022 15 10 9 0 . 6 62.9 61.4
Total male and female 55 to 59 years Total 2022 1,255 1,039 1,017 22 2.1 216 82.8 81.0
Total male and female 55 to 59 years 1 Lower education 2022 334 241 235 6 2.5 93 72.2 70.4
Total male and female 55 to 59 years 2 Intermediate education 2022 506 433 424 9 2.0 73 85.6 83.9
Total male and female 55 to 59 years 3 Higher education 2022 403 358 350 7 2.1 45 88.7 86.9
Total male and female 55 to 59 years Unknown 2022 12 7 7 0 . 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.

Data available from: 2013

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

Changes as of February 14, 2023:
The figures for 4th quarter and the year figures 2022 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 16, 2023.

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.