Net labour participation, 2013

Labour participation of women down for the first time

Labour participation among 15 to 64 year-olds was 66 percent in 2013. This is just over 1 percent lower than in 2012, and more than 2 percent lower than in 2008 when the net labour participation reached an absolute peak of 68 percent. Since then, net participation of men has decreased by almost 5 percent. In the same period, labour participation of women increased slightly. This long-term trend of rising labour participation among women ended in 2013; female participation was slightly lower in 2013 than in 2012, and at 60 percent was still significantly lower male participation (72 percent).

Employed labour force larger in Utrecht than in other three major cities

In the four major cities in the Netherlands, net labour participation (people aged 15 to 64 years who work for 12 hours or more a week) was highest in Utrecht (70 percent) and Amsterdam (66 percent). It was considerably lower than the national average in The Hague (63 percent), and Rotterdam (59 percent).

High labour participation in Randstad and North Brabant

Apart from the four largest cities, other municipalities in the Randstad (in the central west of the country) had slightly higher labour participation rates than average: over 70 percent of people living in and around the Randstad worked for 12 hours or more a week. Labour participation was also relatively high in the province North Brabant and around Nijmegen in the east. By contrast, many municipalities in provinces Groningen, Zeeland and Limburg had lower participation rates.