Employment by status in Netherlands
Netherlands: Employment by status was 83.2% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Employment by status in Netherlands, 1991–2024
Source: International Labour Organization (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, employment by status in Netherlands stood at 83.2%. That is the lowest value across all 34 years on record.
That represents a change of down 2.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, employment by status in Netherlands peaked at 89.8% in 1992 and was at its lowest, 83.2%, in 2024.
Netherlands ranks 49th of 186 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 34 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 89.2% | 88.5% | 89.8% | 9 |
| 2000s | 88.2% | 86.3% | 89.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 85.6% | 85.0% | 86.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 83.6% | 83.2% | 84.2% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Netherlands
- 46 Czechia 84.1% compare
- 47 Australia 83.8% compare
- 48 North Macedonia 83.2% compare
- 50 Switzerland 83.2% compare
- 51 South Africa 83.0% compare
- 52 New Caledonia 83.0% compare
More work & labour data for Netherlands
- Legislation on sexual harassment in employment 1 (1=yes; 0=no) (2023)
- Criminal sanctions or compensation for workplace sexual harassment 1 (1=yes; 0=no) (2023)
- Women can take the same jobs as men 1 (1=yes; 0=no) (2023)
- Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15+) 67.2% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15+) 71.9% (2025)
- Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) 87.2% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15 62.7% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15-6 85.6% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15-64) 89.0% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15 82.2% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is employment by status in Netherlands?
- Employment by status in Netherlands was 83.2% in 2024, according to International Labour Organization (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest employment by status recorded in Netherlands?
- The highest recorded value was 89.8% in 1992.
- What is the lowest employment by status recorded in Netherlands?
- The lowest recorded value was 83.2% in 2024.
- How does Netherlands rank for employment by status?
- Netherlands ranks 49th out of 186 countries with data for 2024.
- Is employment by status rising or falling in Netherlands?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Netherlands data come from?
- The figures come from International Labour Organization (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Employment by status. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 34 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Share of people in employment working as employees, as a percentage of total employment.