Labour participation; key figures

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Labour participation; key figures
Sex Age Highest educational level Periods Labour force Employed labour force Working hours Full-time (x 1 000) Labour force Employed labour force Working hours Part-time Less than 20 working hours a week Less than 20 working hours a week (x 1 000) Labour force Employed labour force Working hours Part-time Less than 20 working hours a week Less than 12 working hours a week (x 1 000) Labour force Employed labour force Working hours Part-time Less than 20 working hours a week 12 to 19 working hours a week (x 1 000) Labour force Employed labour force Working hours Part-time 20 to 34 working hours a week 20 to 34 working hours a week (x 1 000) Labour force Employed labour force Working hours Part-time 20 to 34 working hours a week 20 to 27 working hours a week (x 1 000) Labour force Employed labour force Working hours Part-time 20 to 34 working hours a week 28 to 34 working hours a week (x 1 000)
Total male and female 15 to 74 years Total 2024 1st quarter 5,051 1,594 909 686 3,121 1,344 1,778
Total male and female 15 to 74 years 1 Lower education 2024 1st quarter 844 655 433 222 507 257 250
Total male and female 15 to 74 years 2 Intermediate education 2024 1st quarter 1,777 638 325 313 1,281 610 672
Total male and female 15 to 74 years 3 Higher education 2024 1st quarter 2,407 295 149 146 1,322 472 850
Total male and female 15 to 74 years Unknown 2024 1st quarter 25 6 2 4 11 5 5
Total male and female 15 to 24 years Total 2024 1st quarter 376 893 599 294 370 181 189
Total male and female 15 to 24 years 1 Lower education 2024 1st quarter 84 467 348 119 108 57 52
Total male and female 15 to 24 years 2 Intermediate education 2024 1st quarter 193 358 215 142 196 96 99
Total male and female 15 to 24 years 3 Higher education 2024 1st quarter 99 68 36 32 65 28 37
Total male and female 15 to 24 years Unknown 2024 1st quarter 1 0 0 0 1 0 1
Total male and female 15 to 64 years Total 2024 1st quarter 4,944 1,440 812 629 3,001 1,271 1,730
Total male and female 15 to 64 years 1 Lower education 2024 1st quarter 808 604 401 203 474 237 237
Total male and female 15 to 64 years 2 Intermediate education 2024 1st quarter 1,745 593 297 296 1,241 585 656
Total male and female 15 to 64 years 3 Higher education 2024 1st quarter 2,367 239 112 126 1,276 444 832
Total male and female 15 to 64 years Unknown 2024 1st quarter 24 5 1 4 10 5 5
Total male and female 25 to 44 years Total 2024 1st quarter 2,424 239 97 142 1,291 501 790
Total male and female 25 to 44 years 1 Lower education 2024 1st quarter 279 37 16 21 101 49 53
Total male and female 25 to 44 years 2 Intermediate education 2024 1st quarter 782 104 39 66 479 211 269
Total male and female 25 to 44 years 3 Higher education 2024 1st quarter 1,354 96 42 54 706 239 467
Total male and female 25 to 44 years Unknown 2024 1st quarter 9 2 0 2 5 3 2
Total male and female 25 to 34 years Total 2024 1st quarter 1,310 125 56 69 615 217 398
Total male and female 25 to 34 years 1 Lower education 2024 1st quarter 122 13 6 7 38 17 20
Total male and female 25 to 34 years 2 Intermediate education 2024 1st quarter 412 59 25 34 245 100 146
Total male and female 25 to 34 years 3 Higher education 2024 1st quarter 773 52 26 27 330 99 231
Total male and female 25 to 34 years Unknown 2024 1st quarter 4 1 0 1 2 1 1
Total male and female 35 to 44 years Total 2024 1st quarter 1,114 114 40 73 676 284 392
Total male and female 35 to 44 years 1 Lower education 2024 1st quarter 157 24 10 14 63 31 32
Total male and female 35 to 44 years 2 Intermediate education 2024 1st quarter 370 46 14 32 234 111 123
Total male and female 35 to 44 years 3 Higher education 2024 1st quarter 581 43 16 27 376 139 236
Total male and female 35 to 44 years Unknown 2024 1st quarter 6 1 0 1 3 2 1
Total male and female 45 to 54 years Total 2024 1st quarter 1,156 126 47 79 669 278 391
Total male and female 45 to 54 years 1 Lower education 2024 1st quarter 199 35 13 22 98 46 52
Total male and female 45 to 54 years 2 Intermediate education 2024 1st quarter 413 54 17 37 274 133 141
Total male and female 45 to 54 years 3 Higher education 2024 1st quarter 536 35 16 20 294 98 196
Total male and female 45 to 54 years Unknown 2024 1st quarter 8 2 1 1 3 2 2
Total male and female 45 to 64 years Total 2024 1st quarter 2,143 308 116 192 1,340 589 751
Total male and female 45 to 64 years 1 Lower education 2024 1st quarter 444 99 37 63 264 131 133
Total male and female 45 to 64 years 2 Intermediate education 2024 1st quarter 771 131 43 88 566 278 288
Total male and female 45 to 64 years 3 Higher education 2024 1st quarter 914 75 35 40 506 177 328
Total male and female 45 to 64 years Unknown 2024 1st quarter 14 3 1 2 4 2 2
Total male and female 45 to 74 years Total 2024 1st quarter 2,251 462 212 249 1,461 662 798
Total male and female 45 to 74 years 1 Lower education 2024 1st quarter 480 151 69 82 297 151 146
Total male and female 45 to 74 years 2 Intermediate education 2024 1st quarter 802 177 71 105 606 302 304
Total male and female 45 to 74 years 3 Higher education 2024 1st quarter 954 131 71 59 552 206 346
Total male and female 45 to 74 years Unknown 2024 1st quarter 14 4 1 2 6 3 3
Total male and female 55 to 64 years Total 2024 1st quarter 988 182 69 113 671 311 360
Total male and female 55 to 64 years 1 Lower education 2024 1st quarter 245 65 24 41 166 86 80
Total male and female 55 to 64 years 2 Intermediate education 2024 1st quarter 358 77 26 51 292 145 147
Total male and female 55 to 64 years 3 Higher education 2024 1st quarter 379 39 19 20 212 80 132
Total male and female 55 to 64 years Unknown 2024 1st quarter 6 1 0 1 1 1 0
Total male and female 65 to 74 years Total 2024 1st quarter 108 154 97 57 120 73 47
Total male and female 65 to 74 years 1 Lower education 2024 1st quarter 36 51 32 19 33 20 13
Total male and female 65 to 74 years 2 Intermediate education 2024 1st quarter 31 46 28 18 40 24 16
Total male and female 65 to 74 years 3 Higher education 2024 1st quarter 40 56 37 19 46 28 18
Total male and female 65 to 74 years Unknown 2024 1st quarter 0 1 0 0 1 0 1
Total male and female 15 to 19 years Total 2024 1st quarter 57 549 407 142 97 58 39
Total male and female 15 to 19 years 1 Lower education 2024 1st quarter 37 428 328 99 61 36 25
Total male and female 15 to 19 years 2 Intermediate education 2024 1st quarter 20 119 77 42 35 22 13
Total male and female 15 to 19 years 3 Higher education 2024 1st quarter 0 3 2 1 1 0 1
Total male and female 15 to 19 years Unknown 2024 1st quarter 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total male and female 20 to 24 years Total 2024 1st quarter 320 344 192 152 273 123 150
Total male and female 20 to 24 years 1 Lower education 2024 1st quarter 47 40 20 20 48 21 26
Total male and female 20 to 24 years 2 Intermediate education 2024 1st quarter 173 239 138 101 160 74 86
Total male and female 20 to 24 years 3 Higher education 2024 1st quarter 98 65 34 32 64 28 36
Total male and female 20 to 24 years Unknown 2024 1st quarter 1 0 0 0 1 0 1
Total male and female 25 to 29 years Total 2024 1st quarter 653 74 37 38 273 88 184
Total male and female 25 to 29 years 1 Lower education 2024 1st quarter 48 7 3 4 16 7 9
Total male and female 25 to 29 years 2 Intermediate education 2024 1st quarter 197 38 18 20 122 45 77
Total male and female 25 to 29 years 3 Higher education 2024 1st quarter 406 29 16 13 134 36 98
Total male and female 25 to 29 years Unknown 2024 1st quarter 2 1 0 0 1 0 1
Total male and female 30 to 34 years Total 2024 1st quarter 657 51 20 31 342 128 214
Total male and female 30 to 34 years 1 Lower education 2024 1st quarter 74 6 2 4 21 10 11
Total male and female 30 to 34 years 2 Intermediate education 2024 1st quarter 214 21 7 14 123 55 69
Total male and female 30 to 34 years 3 Higher education 2024 1st quarter 367 24 10 14 196 63 133
Total male and female 30 to 34 years Unknown 2024 1st quarter 2 0 0 0 1 1 1
Total male and female 35 to 39 years Total 2024 1st quarter 579 57 21 37 350 147 203
Total male and female 35 to 39 years 1 Lower education 2024 1st quarter 78 11 4 7 27 15 12
Total male and female 35 to 39 years 2 Intermediate education 2024 1st quarter 190 23 8 15 118 56 62
Total male and female 35 to 39 years 3 Higher education 2024 1st quarter 307 23 8 14 205 76 129
Total male and female 35 to 39 years Unknown 2024 1st quarter 3 0 0 0 1 0 0
Total male and female 40 to 44 years Total 2024 1st quarter 535 56 20 37 326 136 190
Total male and female 40 to 44 years 1 Lower education 2024 1st quarter 79 13 6 7 37 17 20
Total male and female 40 to 44 years 2 Intermediate education 2024 1st quarter 180 22 6 16 116 55 62
Total male and female 40 to 44 years 3 Higher education 2024 1st quarter 274 21 8 13 171 63 108
Total male and female 40 to 44 years Unknown 2024 1st quarter 2 1 0 1 2 2 0
Total male and female 45 to 49 years Total 2024 1st quarter 531 58 22 36 314 129 185
Total male and female 45 to 49 years 1 Lower education 2024 1st quarter 84 15 6 9 40 16 24
Total male and female 45 to 49 years 2 Intermediate education 2024 1st quarter 186 24 8 16 121 60 61
Total male and female 45 to 49 years 3 Higher education 2024 1st quarter 257 18 8 10 151 51 100
Total male and female 45 to 49 years Unknown 2024 1st quarter 4 1 0 1 2 1 1
Total male and female 50 to 54 years Total 2024 1st quarter 624 68 25 43 355 149 206
Total male and female 50 to 54 years 1 Lower education 2024 1st quarter 115 20 7 13 58 30 28
Total male and female 50 to 54 years 2 Intermediate education 2024 1st quarter 227 30 9 21 154 73 81
Total male and female 50 to 54 years 3 Higher education 2024 1st quarter 278 17 8 9 143 46 96
Total male and female 50 to 54 years Unknown 2024 1st quarter 4 1 1 0 1 1 0
Total male and female 55 to 59 years Total 2024 1st quarter 593 80 28 52 353 157 196
Total male and female 55 to 59 years 1 Lower education 2024 1st quarter 136 28 10 18 74 37 37
Total male and female 55 to 59 years 2 Intermediate education 2024 1st quarter 216 36 12 24 165 82 83
Total male and female 55 to 59 years 3 Higher education 2024 1st quarter 238 16 6 10 114 38 75
Total male and female 55 to 59 years Unknown 2024 1st quarter 3 0 0 0 0 0 0
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 May 15, 2024:
The figures for 1st quarter 2024 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 August 12, 2024.

Description topics

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.
Working hours
The number of hours someone works in a normal or average working week.

In the average working hours overtime and unpaid hours are not taken into account.

Part-time
The number of hours that a person works in a normal or average working week is less than 35 hours.

In the average working hours overtime and unpaid hours are not taken into account.
Less than 20 working hours a week
The number of hours that a person works in a normal or average working week is less than 20 hours.

In the average working hours overtime and unpaid hours are not taken into account.

Less than 20 working hours a week
The number of hours that a person works in a normal or average working week is less than 20 hours.

In the average working hours overtime and unpaid hours are not taken into account.

Less than 12 working hours a week
The number of hours that a person works in a normal or average working week is less than 20 hours.

In the average working hours overtime and unpaid hours are not taken into account.

12 to 19 working hours a week
The number of hours that a person works in a normal or average working week is 12 to 19 hours.

In the average working hours overtime and unpaid hours are not taken into account.


20 to 34 working hours a week
The number of hours that a person works in a normal or average working week is 20 to 34 hours.

In the average working hours overtime and unpaid hours are not taken into account.

20 to 34 working hours a week
The number of hours that a person works in a normal or average working week is 20 to 34 hours.

In the average working hours overtime and unpaid hours are not taken into account.

20 to 27 working hours a week
The number of hours that a person works in a normal or average working week is 20 to 27 hours.

In the average working hours overtime and unpaid hours are not taken into account.
28 to 34 working hours a week
The number of hours that a person works in a normal or average working week is 28 to 34 hours.

In the average working hours overtime and unpaid hours are not taken into account.

Full-time
The number of hours that a person works in a normal or average working week is 35 hours or more.

In the average working hours overtime and unpaid hours are not taken into account.