The working population in the Netherlands continues to grow

There are 120 people in work in the Netherlands for every 100 who are not working, national statistics agency CBS said on Wednesday.

Twenty years ago, just 96 people had a job for every 100 who were too young, sick, not working by choice or retired. 

Since then, the number of workers has grown faster than the number of people without employment, hence the shift, the CBS said. 

The number of workers surpassed the number of people without a job for the first time in 2007, the CBS said. There was a dip during the financial crisis in the mid teens, but since then, the figure has risen again steadily. 

Looking just at people of workforce age – those aged 15 to 75 in line with the ILO definition – the number of people with a job outstrips the unemployed by 9.7 million to 3.6 million. 

Between 2003 and 2023 the workforce grew by 1.8 million, while the number of people without a job through choice or no fault of their own fell by 150,000.

The increase in workers is partly accounted for the rise in people aged 45 to 75 with a job, as government efforts to delay retirement had an impact. 

The average age at which people retired in 2022 was 65 years and eight months, which is almost one year younger than the state pension age. Some 20 years ago, people retired over four years before they could claim AOW.

More women are also part of the workforce.