Employed labour force; economic activity

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Sex SIC 2008 Employed labour force (x 1 000)
Total male and female A-U All economic activities 5,084
B-E Industry (no construction), energy 655
B-F Manufacturing and energy 1,015
G-I Trade, transport, hotels, catering 1,091
G-N Commercial services 2,416
M-N Business services 775
O-Q Government and care 1,253
O-U Noncommercial services 1,456
R-U Culture, recreation, other services 203
A Agriculture, forestry and fishing 116
B Mining and quarrying 11
10-12 Manufacture of food and beverages 86
C Manufacturing 574
13-15 Man. of textile-, leatherproducts 6
16-18 Man. wood en paperprod., printing 30
19 Manufacture of coke and petroleum 5
20 Manufacture of chemicals 42
21 Manufacture of pharmaceuticals 18
22-23 Man. plastics and constructionprod 35
24-25 Man. of basic metals and -products 74
26 Manufacture of electronic products 26
27 Manufacture of electric equipment 20
28 Manufacture of machinery n.e.c. 98
29-30 Transport equipment 40
31-33 Other manufacturing and repair 92
D Energy supply 38
35 Energy supply 38
E Water supply and waste management 32
F Construction 360
G Wholesale and retail trade 642
H Transportation and storage 306
I Accommodation and food serving 143
J Information and communication 319
58-60 Publishing, movie, radio and TV 46
61 Telecommunications 23
62-63 IT- and information services 250
K Financial institutions 185
L Renting, buying, selling real estate 46
M Other specialised business services 549
69-71 Management, technical consultancy 416
72 Research and development 42
73-75 Advertising, design and other 91
N Renting and other business support 227
O Public administration and services 495
P Education 302
Q Health and social work activities 456
86 Human health activities 277
87-88 Care and social work 179
R Culture, sports and recreation 103
S Other service activities 94
T Activities of households 4
U Extraterritorial organisations 2
Unknown 80
Male A-U All economic activities 3,642
B-E Industry (no construction), energy 562
B-F Manufacturing and energy 902
G-I Trade, transport, hotels, catering 852
G-N Commercial services 1,825
M-N Business services 553
O-Q Government and care 654
O-U Noncommercial services 764
R-U Culture, recreation, other services 109
A Agriculture, forestry and fishing 93
B Mining and quarrying 10
10-12 Manufacture of food and beverages 67
C Manufacturing 494
13-15 Man. of textile-, leatherproducts 5
16-18 Man. wood en paperprod., printing 26
19 Manufacture of coke and petroleum 5
20 Manufacture of chemicals 34
21 Manufacture of pharmaceuticals 12
22-23 Man. plastics and constructionprod 31
24-25 Man. of basic metals and -products 69
26 Manufacture of electronic products 20
27 Manufacture of electric equipment 17
28 Manufacture of machinery n.e.c. 90
29-30 Transport equipment 38
31-33 Other manufacturing and repair 79
D Energy supply 30
35 Energy supply 30
E Water supply and waste management 28
F Construction 340
G Wholesale and retail trade 501
H Transportation and storage 259
I Accommodation and food serving 92
J Information and communication 258
58-60 Publishing, movie, radio and TV 31
61 Telecommunications 18
62-63 IT- and information services 209
K Financial institutions 129
L Renting, buying, selling real estate 33
M Other specialised business services 384
69-71 Management, technical consultancy 305
72 Research and development 27
73-75 Advertising, design and other 52
N Renting and other business support 169
O Public administration and services 313
P Education 162
Q Health and social work activities 179
86 Human health activities 117
Source: CBS.
Explanation of symbols

Table explanation

This table contains quarterly and yearly figures on the economic activities where people work. The population of 15 to 74 years of age (excluding the institutionalized population) in paid employment is classified according to the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC 2008). A division by sex, age, level of education, professional status and working hours is available.

Data available from: 2013

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

Changes as of November 13, 2025:
The figures for the 3rd quarter 2025 have been added.

Changes as of November 15, 2022:
In the previous version, the self-employed variable was not published in the personal characteristics dimension for employment status. This has been added in this version.

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 in February 2026.

Description topics

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 75 years old. Paid work is regardless of the hours worked.