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 5,051
B-E Industry (no construction), energy 647
B-F Manufacturing and energy 1,002
G-I Trade, transport, hotels, catering 1,062
G-N Commercial services 2,399
M-N Business services 784
O-Q Government and care 1,262
O-U Noncommercial services 1,462
R-U Culture, recreation, other services 200
A Agriculture, forestry and fishing 107
B Mining and quarrying 11
10-12 Manufacture of food and beverages 83
C Manufacturing 564
13-15 Man. of textile-, leatherproducts 7
16-18 Man. wood en paperprod., printing 30
19 Manufacture of coke and petroleum 6
20 Manufacture of chemicals 39
21 Manufacture of pharmaceuticals 19
22-23 Man. plastics and constructionprod 36
24-25 Man. of basic metals and -products 75
26 Manufacture of electronic products 26
27 Manufacture of electric equipment 20
28 Manufacture of machinery n.e.c. 91
29-30 Transport equipment 38
31-33 Other manufacturing and repair 94
D Energy supply 41
35 Energy supply 41
E Water supply and waste management 31
F Construction 355
G Wholesale and retail trade 629
H Transportation and storage 298
I Accommodation and food serving 136
J Information and communication 319
58-60 Publishing, movie, radio and TV 45
61 Telecommunications 25
62-63 IT- and information services 249
K Financial institutions 186
L Renting, buying, selling real estate 48
M Other specialised business services 557
69-71 Management, technical consultancy 417
72 Research and development 44
73-75 Advertising, design and other 96
N Renting and other business support 227
O Public administration and services 493
P Education 311
Q Health and social work activities 458
86 Human health activities 279
87-88 Care and social work 179
R Culture, sports and recreation 102
S Other service activities 92
T Activities of households 5
U Extraterritorial organisations 1
Unknown 81
Male A-U All economic activities 3,624
B-E Industry (no construction), energy 552
B-F Manufacturing and energy 888
G-I Trade, transport, hotels, catering 833
G-N Commercial services 1,816
M-N Business services 561
O-Q Government and care 662
O-U Noncommercial services 772
R-U Culture, recreation, other services 110
A Agriculture, forestry and fishing 87
B Mining and quarrying 10
10-12 Manufacture of food and beverages 63
C Manufacturing 483
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 31
21 Manufacture of pharmaceuticals 12
22-23 Man. plastics and constructionprod 32
24-25 Man. of basic metals and -products 70
26 Manufacture of electronic products 21
27 Manufacture of electric equipment 18
28 Manufacture of machinery n.e.c. 83
29-30 Transport equipment 35
31-33 Other manufacturing and repair 81
D Energy supply 33
35 Energy supply 33
E Water supply and waste management 27
F Construction 335
G Wholesale and retail trade 491
H Transportation and storage 253
I Accommodation and food serving 89
J Information and communication 258
58-60 Publishing, movie, radio and TV 29
61 Telecommunications 19
62-63 IT- and information services 210
K Financial institutions 131
L Renting, buying, selling real estate 33
M Other specialised business services 395
69-71 Management, technical consultancy 308
72 Research and development 29
73-75 Advertising, design and other 58
N Renting and other business support 166
O Public administration and services 314
P Education 166
Q Health and social work activities 182
86 Human health activities 118
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 February 12, 2026:
The figures for the 4th quarter 2025 and the annual figures of 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 May 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.