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 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 74 years Total 2024 1st quarter 13,375 10,153 386 3.8 9,767 3,222 75.9 73.0
Total male and female 15 to 74 years 1 Lower education 2024 1st quarter 3,505 2,135 130 6.1 2,005 1,370 60.9 57.2
Total male and female 15 to 74 years 2 Intermediate education 2024 1st quarter 4,918 3,827 131 3.4 3,697 1,091 77.8 75.2
Total male and female 15 to 74 years 3 Higher education 2024 1st quarter 4,875 4,148 124 3.0 4,024 727 85.1 82.5
Total male and female 15 to 74 years Unknown 2024 1st quarter 77 43 2 4.7 41 34 56.0 53.3
Total male and female 15 to 24 years Total 2024 1st quarter 2,179 1,797 157 8.8 1,640 382 82.5 75.3
Total male and female 15 to 24 years 1 Lower education 2024 1st quarter 962 744 84 11.3 660 219 77.3 68.6
Total male and female 15 to 24 years 2 Intermediate education 2024 1st quarter 924 799 53 6.6 746 125 86.5 80.7
Total male and female 15 to 24 years 3 Higher education 2024 1st quarter 289 253 20 8.1 232 37 87.3 80.2
Total male and female 15 to 24 years Unknown 2024 1st quarter 3 2 0 . 2 1 . .
Total male and female 15 to 64 years Total 2024 1st quarter 11,429 9,756 371 3.8 9,385 1,672 85.4 82.1
Total male and female 15 to 64 years 1 Lower education 2024 1st quarter 2,749 2,012 127 6.3 1,885 737 73.2 68.6
Total male and female 15 to 64 years 2 Intermediate education 2024 1st quarter 4,284 3,705 125 3.4 3,579 579 86.5 83.5
Total male and female 15 to 64 years 3 Higher education 2024 1st quarter 4,334 3,999 117 2.9 3,882 335 92.3 89.6
Total male and female 15 to 64 years Unknown 2024 1st quarter 62 41 2 5.0 39 21 66.0 62.7
Total male and female 25 to 44 years Total 2024 1st quarter 4,536 4,085 131 3.2 3,954 451 90.1 87.2
Total male and female 25 to 44 years 1 Lower education 2024 1st quarter 596 442 24 5.4 418 155 74.0 70.0
Total male and female 25 to 44 years 2 Intermediate education 2024 1st quarter 1,570 1,408 42 3.0 1,366 162 89.7 87.0
Total male and female 25 to 44 years 3 Higher education 2024 1st quarter 2,345 2,219 64 2.9 2,155 126 94.6 91.9
Total male and female 25 to 44 years Unknown 2024 1st quarter 25 17 1 . 16 8 . .
Total male and female 25 to 34 years Total 2024 1st quarter 2,349 2,130 79 3.7 2,050 219 90.7 87.3
Total male and female 25 to 34 years 1 Lower education 2024 1st quarter 253 186 13 6.8 173 67 73.4 68.4
Total male and female 25 to 34 years 2 Intermediate education 2024 1st quarter 825 741 26 3.5 716 83 89.9 86.8
Total male and female 25 to 34 years 3 Higher education 2024 1st quarter 1,261 1,195 40 3.4 1,155 66 94.8 91.6
Total male and female 25 to 34 years Unknown 2024 1st quarter 10 7 1 . 7 2 . .
Total male and female 35 to 44 years Total 2024 1st quarter 2,187 1,956 52 2.7 1,904 231 89.4 87.0
Total male and female 35 to 44 years 1 Lower education 2024 1st quarter 343 256 11 4.4 244 87 74.5 71.3
Total male and female 35 to 44 years 2 Intermediate education 2024 1st quarter 746 667 17 2.5 650 79 89.4 87.2
Total male and female 35 to 44 years 3 Higher education 2024 1st quarter 1,084 1,024 24 2.3 1,000 60 94.5 92.3
Total male and female 35 to 44 years Unknown 2024 1st quarter 15 10 0 . 9 5 . .
Total male and female 45 to 54 years Total 2024 1st quarter 2,269 1,989 38 1.9 1,951 280 87.6 86.0
Total male and female 45 to 54 years 1 Lower education 2024 1st quarter 460 340 8 2.2 332 120 73.8 72.2
Total male and female 45 to 54 years 2 Intermediate education 2024 1st quarter 845 754 12 1.7 741 92 89.1 87.7
Total male and female 45 to 54 years 3 Higher education 2024 1st quarter 944 882 17 1.9 865 63 93.3 91.6
Total male and female 45 to 54 years Unknown 2024 1st quarter 19 14 1 . 13 5 . .
Total male and female 45 to 64 years Total 2024 1st quarter 4,714 3,874 83 2.1 3,791 840 82.2 80.4
Total male and female 45 to 64 years 1 Lower education 2024 1st quarter 1,190 826 19 2.3 807 363 69.5 67.9
Total male and female 45 to 64 years 2 Intermediate education 2024 1st quarter 1,790 1,498 30 2.0 1,468 292 83.7 82.0
Total male and female 45 to 64 years 3 Higher education 2024 1st quarter 1,700 1,527 33 2.1 1,495 173 89.8 87.9
Total male and female 45 to 64 years Unknown 2024 1st quarter 34 22 1 . 21 12 64.8 61.7
Total male and female 45 to 74 years Total 2024 1st quarter 6,661 4,271 98 2.3 4,173 2,390 64.1 62.7
Total male and female 45 to 74 years 1 Lower education 2024 1st quarter 1,946 950 22 2.3 928 997 48.8 47.7
Total male and female 45 to 74 years 2 Intermediate education 2024 1st quarter 2,424 1,621 36 2.2 1,585 803 66.9 65.4
Total male and female 45 to 74 years 3 Higher education 2024 1st quarter 2,241 1,676 40 2.4 1,637 565 74.8 73.0
Total male and female 45 to 74 years Unknown 2024 1st quarter 50 25 1 . 24 25 49.6 47.4
Total male and female 55 to 64 years Total 2024 1st quarter 2,445 1,885 45 2.4 1,840 560 77.1 75.3
Total male and female 55 to 64 years 1 Lower education 2024 1st quarter 729 487 11 2.3 475 243 66.7 65.2
Total male and female 55 to 64 years 2 Intermediate education 2024 1st quarter 945 745 18 2.4 727 200 78.8 76.9
Total male and female 55 to 64 years 3 Higher education 2024 1st quarter 756 646 16 2.4 630 110 85.5 83.4
Total male and female 55 to 64 years Unknown 2024 1st quarter 15 8 0 . 8 7 . .
Total male and female 65 to 74 years Total 2024 1st quarter 1,947 397 15 3.8 382 1,550 20.4 19.6
Total male and female 65 to 74 years 1 Lower education 2024 1st quarter 757 123 3 2.4 120 634 16.3 15.9
Total male and female 65 to 74 years 2 Intermediate education 2024 1st quarter 634 122 5 4.4 117 511 19.3 18.5
Total male and female 65 to 74 years 3 Higher education 2024 1st quarter 541 149 7 4.6 142 392 27.5 26.3
Total male and female 65 to 74 years Unknown 2024 1st quarter 15 2 0 . 2 13 . .
Total male and female 15 to 19 years Total 2024 1st quarter 1,010 790 86 10.9 703 220 78.2 69.7
Total male and female 15 to 19 years 1 Lower education 2024 1st quarter 778 592 67 11.3 525 186 76.1 67.5
Total male and female 15 to 19 years 2 Intermediate education 2024 1st quarter 225 192 18 9.5 174 33 85.4 77.3
Total male and female 15 to 19 years 3 Higher education 2024 1st quarter 7 5 1 . 4 1 . .
Total male and female 15 to 19 years Unknown 2024 1st quarter 0 0 0 . 0 0 . .
Total male and female 20 to 24 years Total 2024 1st quarter 1,169 1,007 71 7.1 936 162 86.2 80.1
Total male and female 20 to 24 years 1 Lower education 2024 1st quarter 184 152 17 11.2 135 33 82.3 73.1
Total male and female 20 to 24 years 2 Intermediate education 2024 1st quarter 699 607 35 5.7 572 92 86.8 81.8
Total male and female 20 to 24 years 3 Higher education 2024 1st quarter 283 247 19 7.8 228 36 87.4 80.6
Total male and female 20 to 24 years Unknown 2024 1st quarter 3 1 0 . 1 1 . .
Total male and female 25 to 29 years Total 2024 1st quarter 1,158 1,044 44 4.2 1,000 114 90.2 86.4
Total male and female 25 to 29 years 1 Lower education 2024 1st quarter 110 78 6 7.9 72 32 70.9 65.3
Total male and female 25 to 29 years 2 Intermediate education 2024 1st quarter 417 372 15 4.1 357 44 89.3 85.6
Total male and female 25 to 29 years 3 Higher education 2024 1st quarter 628 591 22 3.8 569 37 94.1 90.6
Total male and female 25 to 29 years Unknown 2024 1st quarter 3 3 0 . 3 0 . .
Total male and female 30 to 34 years Total 2024 1st quarter 1,191 1,086 35 3.2 1,050 106 91.1 88.2
Total male and female 30 to 34 years 1 Lower education 2024 1st quarter 144 108 7 6.0 102 36 75.3 70.7
Total male and female 30 to 34 years 2 Intermediate education 2024 1st quarter 408 369 10 2.8 359 39 90.4 87.9
Total male and female 30 to 34 years 3 Higher education 2024 1st quarter 633 604 18 3.0 586 29 95.4 92.6
Total male and female 30 to 34 years Unknown 2024 1st quarter 6 5 1 . 4 2 . .
Total male and female 35 to 39 years Total 2024 1st quarter 1,124 1,012 26 2.6 986 113 90.0 87.7
Total male and female 35 to 39 years 1 Lower education 2024 1st quarter 162 120 5 3.9 115 42 74.2 71.3
Total male and female 35 to 39 years 2 Intermediate education 2024 1st quarter 379 339 8 2.3 331 40 89.4 87.4
Total male and female 35 to 39 years 3 Higher education 2024 1st quarter 576 548 13 2.4 535 28 95.1 92.8
Total male and female 35 to 39 years Unknown 2024 1st quarter 7 5 0 . 4 2 . .
Total male and female 40 to 44 years Total 2024 1st quarter 1,063 944 26 2.8 918 119 88.8 86.4
Total male and female 40 to 44 years 1 Lower education 2024 1st quarter 181 136 7 4.8 129 46 74.8 71.2
Total male and female 40 to 44 years 2 Intermediate education 2024 1st quarter 367 328 9 2.7 319 39 89.4 87.0
Total male and female 40 to 44 years 3 Higher education 2024 1st quarter 507 476 11 2.2 465 31 93.8 91.7
Total male and female 40 to 44 years Unknown 2024 1st quarter 8 5 0 . 5 3 . .
Total male and female 45 to 49 years Total 2024 1st quarter 1,041 922 18 2.0 904 119 88.6 86.8
Total male and female 45 to 49 years 1 Lower education 2024 1st quarter 194 144 5 3.5 139 50 74.3 71.7
Total male and female 45 to 49 years 2 Intermediate education 2024 1st quarter 374 337 6 1.7 331 37 90.0 88.5
Total male and female 45 to 49 years 3 Higher education 2024 1st quarter 463 434 7 1.7 427 29 93.7 92.1
Total male and female 45 to 49 years Unknown 2024 1st quarter 10 7 0 . 7 3 . .
Total male and female 50 to 54 years Total 2024 1st quarter 1,228 1,067 20 1.9 1,047 161 86.9 85.3
Total male and female 50 to 54 years 1 Lower education 2024 1st quarter 266 195 2 1.3 193 71 73.4 72.5
Total male and female 50 to 54 years 2 Intermediate education 2024 1st quarter 471 417 7 1.6 410 55 88.4 87.0
Total male and female 50 to 54 years 3 Higher education 2024 1st quarter 481 448 10 2.1 438 34 93.0 91.0
Total male and female 50 to 54 years Unknown 2024 1st quarter 10 7 1 . 6 2 . .
Total male and female 55 to 59 years Total 2024 1st quarter 1,254 1,046 20 2.0 1,026 207 83.5 81.8
Total male and female 55 to 59 years 1 Lower education 2024 1st quarter 340 243 5 2.1 238 97 71.4 69.9
Total male and female 55 to 59 years 2 Intermediate education 2024 1st quarter 496 425 9 2.1 416 71 85.8 84.0
Total male and female 55 to 59 years 3 Higher education 2024 1st quarter 410 374 7 1.7 368 36 91.2 89.6
Total male and female 55 to 59 years Unknown 2024 1st quarter 7 4 0 . 4 3 . .
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.