Women with flexible jobs are likely to have children later than those who are on staff, according to a report from the CBS Dutch statistics office.

The report studied 25,000 childless 18 to 45-year-old women with a partner between 2003 and 2015, to explore the relationship between flexible work and family patterns.

It analysed their chances of having a baby within a year, breaking these statistics down into averages for women with flexible contracts, staff jobs, working freelance and without paid jobs.

It found that young couples were apparently more likely to go for children earlier with the security of the female partner in fixed-contract work.

Security

Women without paid work were most likely to give birth, with a 19% chance of having a child within a year – but staffers were almost as likely to start a family (18%).

Freelancers had a 17% chance of giving birth, while those on flexible contracts were least likely to do so (13%).

The report, commissioned by the social affairs department, found no relation between the working patterns of the male partners and chances of children. It found differences in the education levels of women, with the highly-educated more likely to have children when working on staff or freelance.

The number of people with flexible jobs is increasing, while the birth rate has dropped in the past decade, and the study says that policy makers will have to respond to the implications of this. Uncertain income, reports the Volkskrant, could lead to putting off children.