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.
Employment by status in Netherlands, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 89.7% | — |
| 1992 | 89.8% | +0.1% |
| 1993 | 89.4% | -0.4% |
| 1994 | 88.8% | -0.7% |
| 1995 | 88.5% | -0.3% |
| 1996 | 88.9% | +0.5% |
| 1997 | 88.8% | -0.1% |
| 1998 | 89.5% | +0.8% |
| 1999 | 89.7% | +0.2% |
| 2000 | 89.7% | +0.1% |
| 2001 | 89.6% | -0.1% |
| 2002 | 89.5% | -0.2% |
| 2003 | 89.8% | +0.3% |
| 2004 | 89.1% | -0.8% |
| 2005 | 87.5% | -1.8% |
| 2006 | 87.1% | -0.4% |
| 2007 | 87.0% | -0.2% |
| 2008 | 86.7% | -0.2% |
| 2009 | 86.3% | -0.6% |
| 2010 | 86.6% | +0.4% |
| 2011 | 86.4% | -0.2% |
| 2012 | 86.3% | -0.2% |
| 2013 | 85.4% | -1.0% |
| 2014 | 85.1% | -0.3% |
| 2015 | 85.0% | -0.2% |
| 2016 | 85.1% | +0.1% |
| 2017 | 85.2% | +0.2% |
| 2018 | 85.2% | -0.0% |
| 2019 | 85.4% | +0.2% |
| 2020 | 84.1% | -1.5% |
| 2021 | 84.2% | +0.1% |
| 2022 | 83.3% | -1.0% |
| 2023 | 83.2% | -0.2% |
| 2024 | 83.2% | -0.0% |
Netherlands compared with similar countries
- Netherlands's 83.2% is below the median for high income countries, which is 86.7%, 96% of the median. (62 countries reporting)
- Netherlands's 83.2% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 85.3%, 97% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
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
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 5,256 (2027)
- Labour force participation rate (ILO modelled estimates) 66.71 (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 10,535 (2027)
- Unemployment rate (ILO modelled estimates) 4.03 (2027)
- Labour dependency ratio 0.834 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2021 international $ at PPP 130,584 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2015 US $ 94,797 (2027)
- Employment-to-population ratio (ILO modelled estimates) 64.03 (2027)
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+) 1.4 % change on previous year (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+), annual growth rate 0.1112 % change on previous year (2027)
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.