Labour participation; key figures

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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 1 Lower education 2024 1st quarter 3,505 2,135 2,005 130 6.1 1,370 60.9 57.2
Total male and female 15 to 74 years 2 Intermediate education 2024 1st quarter 4,918 3,827 3,697 131 3.4 1,091 77.8 75.2
Total male and female 15 to 74 years 3 Higher education 2024 1st quarter 4,875 4,148 4,024 124 3.0 727 85.1 82.5
Total male and female 15 to 24 years 1 Lower education 2024 1st quarter 962 744 660 84 11.3 219 77.3 68.6
Total male and female 15 to 24 years 2 Intermediate education 2024 1st quarter 924 799 746 53 6.6 125 86.5 80.7
Total male and female 15 to 24 years 3 Higher education 2024 1st quarter 289 253 232 20 8.1 37 87.3 80.2
Total male and female 15 to 64 years 1 Lower education 2024 1st quarter 2,749 2,012 1,885 127 6.3 737 73.2 68.6
Total male and female 15 to 64 years 2 Intermediate education 2024 1st quarter 4,284 3,705 3,579 125 3.4 579 86.5 83.5
Total male and female 15 to 64 years 3 Higher education 2024 1st quarter 4,334 3,999 3,882 117 2.9 335 92.3 89.6
Total male and female 25 to 44 years 1 Lower education 2024 1st quarter 596 442 418 24 5.4 155 74.0 70.0
Total male and female 25 to 44 years 2 Intermediate education 2024 1st quarter 1,570 1,408 1,366 42 3.0 162 89.7 87.0
Total male and female 25 to 44 years 3 Higher education 2024 1st quarter 2,345 2,219 2,155 64 2.9 126 94.6 91.9
Total male and female 25 to 34 years 1 Lower education 2024 1st quarter 253 186 173 13 6.8 67 73.4 68.4
Total male and female 25 to 34 years 2 Intermediate education 2024 1st quarter 825 741 716 26 3.5 83 89.9 86.8
Total male and female 25 to 34 years 3 Higher education 2024 1st quarter 1,261 1,195 1,155 40 3.4 66 94.8 91.6
Total male and female 35 to 44 years 1 Lower education 2024 1st quarter 343 256 244 11 4.4 87 74.5 71.3
Total male and female 35 to 44 years 2 Intermediate education 2024 1st quarter 746 667 650 17 2.5 79 89.4 87.2
Total male and female 35 to 44 years 3 Higher education 2024 1st quarter 1,084 1,024 1,000 24 2.3 60 94.5 92.3
Total male and female 45 to 54 years 1 Lower education 2024 1st quarter 460 340 332 8 2.2 120 73.8 72.2
Total male and female 45 to 54 years 2 Intermediate education 2024 1st quarter 845 754 741 12 1.7 92 89.1 87.7
Total male and female 45 to 54 years 3 Higher education 2024 1st quarter 944 882 865 17 1.9 63 93.3 91.6
Total male and female 45 to 64 years 1 Lower education 2024 1st quarter 1,190 826 807 19 2.3 363 69.5 67.9
Total male and female 45 to 64 years 2 Intermediate education 2024 1st quarter 1,790 1,498 1,468 30 2.0 292 83.7 82.0
Total male and female 45 to 64 years 3 Higher education 2024 1st quarter 1,700 1,527 1,495 33 2.1 173 89.8 87.9
Total male and female 45 to 74 years 1 Lower education 2024 1st quarter 1,946 950 928 22 2.3 997 48.8 47.7
Total male and female 45 to 74 years 2 Intermediate education 2024 1st quarter 2,424 1,621 1,585 36 2.2 803 66.9 65.4
Total male and female 45 to 74 years 3 Higher education 2024 1st quarter 2,241 1,676 1,637 40 2.4 565 74.8 73.0
Total male and female 55 to 64 years 1 Lower education 2024 1st quarter 729 487 475 11 2.3 243 66.7 65.2
Total male and female 55 to 64 years 2 Intermediate education 2024 1st quarter 945 745 727 18 2.4 200 78.8 76.9
Total male and female 55 to 64 years 3 Higher education 2024 1st quarter 756 646 630 16 2.4 110 85.5 83.4
Total male and female 65 to 74 years 1 Lower education 2024 1st quarter 757 123 120 3 2.4 634 16.3 15.9
Total male and female 65 to 74 years 2 Intermediate education 2024 1st quarter 634 122 117 5 4.4 511 19.3 18.5
Total male and female 65 to 74 years 3 Higher education 2024 1st quarter 541 149 142 7 4.6 392 27.5 26.3
Total male and female 15 to 19 years 1 Lower education 2024 1st quarter 778 592 525 67 11.3 186 76.1 67.5
Total male and female 15 to 19 years 2 Intermediate education 2024 1st quarter 225 192 174 18 9.5 33 85.4 77.3
Total male and female 15 to 19 years 3 Higher education 2024 1st quarter 7 5 4 1 . 1 . .
Total male and female 20 to 24 years 1 Lower education 2024 1st quarter 184 152 135 17 11.2 33 82.3 73.1
Total male and female 20 to 24 years 2 Intermediate education 2024 1st quarter 699 607 572 35 5.7 92 86.8 81.8
Total male and female 20 to 24 years 3 Higher education 2024 1st quarter 283 247 228 19 7.8 36 87.4 80.6
Total male and female 25 to 29 years 1 Lower education 2024 1st quarter 110 78 72 6 7.9 32 70.9 65.3
Total male and female 25 to 29 years 2 Intermediate education 2024 1st quarter 417 372 357 15 4.1 44 89.3 85.6
Total male and female 25 to 29 years 3 Higher education 2024 1st quarter 628 591 569 22 3.8 37 94.1 90.6
Total male and female 30 to 34 years 1 Lower education 2024 1st quarter 144 108 102 7 6.0 36 75.3 70.7
Total male and female 30 to 34 years 2 Intermediate education 2024 1st quarter 408 369 359 10 2.8 39 90.4 87.9
Total male and female 30 to 34 years 3 Higher education 2024 1st quarter 633 604 586 18 3.0 29 95.4 92.6
Total male and female 35 to 39 years 1 Lower education 2024 1st quarter 162 120 115 5 3.9 42 74.2 71.3
Total male and female 35 to 39 years 2 Intermediate education 2024 1st quarter 379 339 331 8 2.3 40 89.4 87.4
Total male and female 35 to 39 years 3 Higher education 2024 1st quarter 576 548 535 13 2.4 28 95.1 92.8
Total male and female 40 to 44 years 1 Lower education 2024 1st quarter 181 136 129 7 4.8 46 74.8 71.2
Total male and female 40 to 44 years 2 Intermediate education 2024 1st quarter 367 328 319 9 2.7 39 89.4 87.0
Total male and female 40 to 44 years 3 Higher education 2024 1st quarter 507 476 465 11 2.2 31 93.8 91.7
Total male and female 45 to 49 years 1 Lower education 2024 1st quarter 194 144 139 5 3.5 50 74.3 71.7
Total male and female 45 to 49 years 2 Intermediate education 2024 1st quarter 374 337 331 6 1.7 37 90.0 88.5
Total male and female 45 to 49 years 3 Higher education 2024 1st quarter 463 434 427 7 1.7 29 93.7 92.1
Total male and female 50 to 54 years 1 Lower education 2024 1st quarter 266 195 193 2 1.3 71 73.4 72.5
Total male and female 50 to 54 years 2 Intermediate education 2024 1st quarter 471 417 410 7 1.6 55 88.4 87.0
Total male and female 50 to 54 years 3 Higher education 2024 1st quarter 481 448 438 10 2.1 34 93.0 91.0
Total male and female 55 to 59 years 1 Lower education 2024 1st quarter 340 243 238 5 2.1 97 71.4 69.9
Total male and female 55 to 59 years 2 Intermediate education 2024 1st quarter 496 425 416 9 2.1 71 85.8 84.0
Total male and female 55 to 59 years 3 Higher education 2024 1st quarter 410 374 368 7 1.7 36 91.2 89.6
Total male and female 60 to 64 years 1 Lower education 2024 1st quarter 389 244 238 6 2.6 145 62.7 61.1
Total male and female 60 to 64 years 2 Intermediate education 2024 1st quarter 449 320 311 9 2.8 130 71.1 69.2
Total male and female 60 to 64 years 3 Higher education 2024 1st quarter 345 272 262 9 3.4 74 78.6 76.0
Total male and female 65 to 69 years 1 Lower education 2024 1st quarter 373 98 96 2 2.3 275 26.3 25.7
Total male and female 65 to 69 years 2 Intermediate education 2024 1st quarter 352 93 88 5 5.5 258 26.5 25.1
Total male and female 65 to 69 years 3 Higher education 2024 1st quarter 303 110 105 5 4.2 193 36.3 34.8
Total male and female 70 to 74 years 1 Lower education 2024 1st quarter 384 25 24 1 . 359 6.5 6.4
Total male and female 70 to 74 years 2 Intermediate education 2024 1st quarter 282 29 29 0 . 253 10.4 10.3
Total male and female 70 to 74 years 3 Higher education 2024 1st quarter 238 39 37 2 5.7 199 16.3 15.4
Male 15 to 74 years 1 Lower education 2024 1st quarter 1,784 1,232 1,159 73 5.9 553 69.0 64.9
Male 15 to 74 years 2 Intermediate education 2024 1st quarter 2,517 2,058 1,993 64 3.1 460 81.7 79.2
Male 15 to 74 years 3 Higher education 2024 1st quarter 2,350 2,044 1,985 59 2.9 306 87.0 84.5
Male 15 to 24 years 1 Lower education 2024 1st quarter 507 398 351 47 11.8 109 78.4 69.2
Male 15 to 24 years 2 Intermediate education 2024 1st quarter 473 409 383 26 6.3 65 86.4 80.9
Male 15 to 24 years 3 Higher education 2024 1st quarter 125 107 96 11 9.8 18 85.4 77.0
Male 15 to 64 years 1 Lower education 2024 1st quarter 1,459 1,152 1,081 71 6.1 306 79.0 74.1
Male 15 to 64 years 2 Intermediate education 2024 1st quarter 2,193 1,974 1,913 61 3.1 220 90.0 87.2
Male 15 to 64 years 3 Higher education 2024 1st quarter 2,053 1,942 1,887 55 2.8 112 94.6 91.9
Male 25 to 44 years 1 Lower education 2024 1st quarter 338 280 267 13 4.7 59 82.6 78.8
Male 25 to 44 years 2 Intermediate education 2024 1st quarter 848 798 775 23 2.8 51 94.0 91.4
Male 25 to 44 years 3 Higher education 2024 1st quarter 1,087 1,051 1,023 28 2.7 36 96.7 94.1
Male 25 to 34 years 1 Lower education 2024 1st quarter 151 122 114 8 6.5 29 81.0 75.7
Male 25 to 34 years 2 Intermediate education 2024 1st quarter 456 427 412 15 3.6 29 93.7 90.3
Male 25 to 34 years 3 Higher education 2024 1st quarter 579 558 541 16 3.0 21 96.3 93.5
Male 35 to 44 years 1 Lower education 2024 1st quarter 187 157 152 5 3.3 30 84.0 81.2
Male 35 to 44 years 2 Intermediate education 2024 1st quarter 392 370 363 7 2.0 22 94.5 92.6
Male 35 to 44 years 3 Higher education 2024 1st quarter 508 494 482 12 2.3 15 97.1 94.8
Male 45 to 54 years 1 Lower education 2024 1st quarter 253 199 195 4 2.2 53 78.8 77.1
Male 45 to 54 years 2 Intermediate education 2024 1st quarter 418 381 376 5 1.3 37 91.3 90.0
Male 45 to 54 years 3 Higher education 2024 1st quarter 444 425 418 7 1.6 20 95.6 94.1
Male 45 to 64 years 1 Lower education 2024 1st quarter 613 475 464 11 2.2 138 77.4 75.7
Male 45 to 64 years 2 Intermediate education 2024 1st quarter 872 767 755 12 1.6 105 88.0 86.6
Male 45 to 64 years 3 Higher education 2024 1st quarter 841 783 767 16 2.1 58 93.2 91.2
Male 45 to 74 years 1 Lower education 2024 1st quarter 939 554 542 13 2.3 385 59.0 57.7
Male 45 to 74 years 2 Intermediate education 2024 1st quarter 1,196 851 835 16 1.9 345 71.2 69.8
Male 45 to 74 years 3 Higher education 2024 1st quarter 1,137 886 865 21 2.4 252 77.9 76.0
Male 55 to 64 years 1 Lower education 2024 1st quarter 361 276 270 6 2.3 85 76.5 74.7
Male 55 to 64 years 2 Intermediate education 2024 1st quarter 454 386 379 7 1.8 68 85.0 83.5
Male 55 to 64 years 3 Higher education 2024 1st quarter 397 359 349 9 2.6 38 90.4 88.1
Male 65 to 74 years 1 Lower education 2024 1st quarter 326 79 77 2 2.4 247 24.4 23.8
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 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.