Dutch earnings from exports
International trade plays a major role in the Dutch economy. Earnings from exports of goods and services account for almost a third of our GDP and over 30% of employment in the Netherlands. 2021 was a year of recovery for the Dutch economy: the coronavirus pandemic had caused major contraction of the economy and also of international trade in 2020. By 2021, exports of goods were already above pre-pandemic levels; exports of services not yet. In earnings from exports, we see the same pattern. This chapter looks at export earnings and employment generated by exports of goods and services in 2021, and how that developed compared to previous years. It distinguishes between earnings from different types of exports, destination countries and industries.
6.1Key findings
Contribution of exports to GDP
- The Netherlands exported €711bn worth of goods and services in 2021: 14% more than in 2020 and 5.9% more than in 2019. Exports of domestically produced goods were 8.7% higher than in 2019 and re-exports 14.7%. However, exports of services had not yet recovered from the coronavirus pandemic and were 10.3% lower in 2021 than in 2019.
- From the €711bn worth of exports, earnings were generated to an amount of €279 bn.
- Domestic exports yielded almost €138bn, re-exports almost €36bn and service exports more than €106bn.
- Total export earnings (€279bn) accounted for 32.6% of GDP in 2021. That share is smaller than in 2019, because the domestic components of GDP grew faster than export earnings.
- In 2021, export earnings averaged 39 cents per euro: with 55 eurocents per euro in domestic exports, 65 eurocents in service exports and 12 eurocents in re-exports.
- At around €71bn, the highest export earnings were generated in the manufacturing sector. The bulk was from exports of Dutch-manufactured goods (domestic exports). The top earners among the industries were machinery; food, beverages and tobacco, and chemicals.
- In 2021, export earnings averaged 39 cents per euro: with 55 eurocents per euro in domestic exports, 65 eurocents in service exports and 12 eurocents in re-exports.
- Business services earned less from exports in 2021 than two years previously. Just as it applies to the entire flow of service exports, the decrease was due to the slow recovery of travel and therefore of travel-related services on the one hand and changes in the Dutch tax system (as a result of which firms implemented restructurings) on the other.
- In 2021, the Netherlands earned the most from exports to Germany. Domestic exports yielded the most, but re-exports also played a relatively large role in total export earnings. This was also the case for other export destinations close to the Netherlands: Belgium, France, Spain and Italy. Earnings from exports to China mainly came from domestic exports.
- The Netherlands earns a relatively large proportion from the export of services to the US, the UK, Ireland and Switzerland. Earnings from re-exports to the UK were considerably lower than one year previously since Brexit became effective in 2021, but by contrast, domestic and service exports generated higher earnings than pre-Brexit.
- The Dutch economy grew by 4.9% in 2021. Of this, 2.3 percentage points were due to the export of goods and services. Domestic exports contributed 1.1 percentage point, re-exports 0.5 percentage point and service exports contributed 0.6 percentage point to GDP growth.
Export-induced employment
- In 2021, almost 2.4 million full-time jobs (FTE) in the Netherlands were related to exports: more than 1 million direct jobs and more than 1.3 million indirect jobs. Together, this was approximately 30.4% of total employment (in FTE) in the Netherlands. Domestic exports accounted for about 14.0% of total employment (+2.5% compared to 2019), re-exports 3.7% (–3.2% compared to 2019) and service exports 12.7% (–7.9% compared to 2019).
- Occupations that are largely dependent on the export of goods (measured in hours spent on exports compared to domestic expenditure) are agricultural occupations and transport-related occupations.
- The self-employed work relatively more hours for export (37% of the hours) than employees with a permanent contract (30%) and employees with a temporary contract (28%).
Outline
Section 6.2 discusses the earnings from exports in 2021noot1, and what share the different components of exports account for in Dutch GDP. We also show the average earnings per type of export (domestic exports, re-exports and exports of services). We then further break down these earnings by exporting sector and industry, and by country of destination. Finally, we further break down GDP growth between 2020 and 2021 by domestic expenditure and the three types of exports. Section 6.3 then highlights export-induced employment, where we distinguish between direct and indirect employment. We also break down employment due to domestic exports, re-exports and service exports. This is followed by the hours worked that are linked exports compared to domestic expenditure per occupational class, with finally the hours worked on behalf of exports per type of contract.
6.2Contribution of exports to GDP
The Netherlands exported goods and services worth close to €711 billion in 2021, which, following a fall in exports of both goods and services in the COVID year 2020, represents a 14% growth over 2020 and a 5.9% growth over 2019. The gross export value consists of exports of goods and services combined. We also differentiate two types of exports within goods exports: domestic exports and re-exports. Re-exports consist of goods that are imported by resident enterprises and then re-exported after virtually no processing in the Netherlands. The re-exported goods are (temporarily) owned by a resident enterprise while in the Netherlands.
Domestic exports of goods amounted to €252 billion in 2021, re-exports amounted to €296 billion and the exports of services amounted to €162 billion (Figure 6.2.1).noot2 While domestic exports and re-exports were already well above 2019 levels at 8.7% and 14.7% respectively, trade in services had not yet recovered in 2021. Relative to 2019, the export value of services was still down by 10.3% in 2021.
| Domestic exports | Re-exports | Service exports | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 252.2 | 296.2 | 162.2 |
| 2020* | 216 | 243.2 | 164.2 |
| 2019 | 232 | 258.3 | 180.8 |
| 2018 | 239.3 | 245.6 | 170.5 |
| 2017 | 227.5 | 233.3 | 154.8 |
| 2016 | 209.5 | 211.4 | 142.5 |
| 2015 | 212.1 | 206.3 | 152 |
Chapters 2, 3 and 4 already showed that price increases have been playing an increasingly important role in recent years. The increase in export value in 2021 compared to previous years is therefore not only due to the growth in export volume, but also to the increase in export prices. This chapter not only addresses the gross export values, but also the exports relative to GDP and final earnings, which will provide a clear overview of the earnings from Dutch exports in 2021.
Export earnings in 2021 exceeding pre-coronavirus crisis levels again
The exports from Figure 6.2.1 are gross values. To determine what the Netherlands earns from these exports, consumption of the imported goods and services required are deducted from gross export value. Of the €711 billion in gross exports, the earnings amounted to €279 billion in 2021. This is nearly 11% more than in 2020 and over 3% up on the last pre-COVID year 2019. Of those €279 billion, domestic exports amounted to almost €138 billion, re-exports amounted to almost €36 billion and exports of services amounted to well over €106 billion.
Dividing earnings by gross export value yields a 39% share in gross export earnings, meaning that the Netherlands earned an average of 39 cents per euro of exports. Earnings per euro appear to be declining in recent years; in 2019 and 2020 it was still 40 eurocents, and in 2015 it was even as high as 42 eurocents. This is due to the fact that re-exports have become increasingly important in total Dutch (gross) exports: from a 36% share in 2015 to a 42% share in 2021. As it is, re-exports are overall the least lucrative of all types of exports for the Netherlands with an average earning of 12 cents per euro of exports in 2021. This is because the import content in this flow is very high and Dutch enterprises add only little value to these goods. Moreover, earnings from re-exports also declined in recent years: in 2019 it was still at 13 cents and in 2015 at 14 cents. Although the gross re-export value rose sharply in 2021 compared to 2019, total earnings from this flow were relatively smaller, as average earnings (per euro of gross exports) were smaller than in 2019. At the same time, there was also less employment linked to re-exports (Section 6.3). In addition to the nature of this type of exports, the type of goods being re-exported also plays a role. For instance, we know that there is a relatively large amount of mineral fuels in the flow of re-exports, which already witnessed considerable price increases in 2021 (CBS, 2022a). This may have impacted the low earnings of that year.
Domestic exports provided an average of 55 eurocents in 2021; service exports even arrived at 65 cents per euro of exports. Figure 6.2.2 also shows that earnings from domestic exports and service exports have increased in comparison with 2015, which means only the earnings from re-exports have dropped.
| Type export | 2015 | 2021* |
|---|---|---|
| Domestic exports | 52.5 | 54.5 |
| Re-exports | 13.7 | 12.1 |
| Service exports | 64.1 | 65.4 |
| Total exports | 41.6 | 39.3 |
Dutch GDP is composed of earnings from domestic expenditure and exports of goods and services. In the first quarter of 2021, Dutch GDP was still falling compared to the same period the year before. There was particularly strong economic growth in the second and third quarter, contrasted of course with the massive contraction at the start of the coronavirus crisis in the second quarter of 2020 (CBS, 2023). Earnings from exports accounted for 32.6% of Dutch GDP in 2021, which is a slight contraction compared to 2019 (33.3%) and 2015 (34.4%), but still an increase over 2020 (31.7%). Export earnings were as much as 3.3% higher in 2021 than in 2019; domestic components of GDP have thus increased more strongly. One of the reasons may be that some components of exports had not yet recovered from the coronavirus crisis in 2021, including travel and travel-related services such as platforms for travel, accommodation or taxi bookings. Driven by travel restrictions, for example, people consumed and travelled more domestically and fewer business travellers and tourists came to the Netherlands than before the pandemic. (CBS, 2022b).
Earnings from service exports on a slower path of growth?
Total exports thus accounted for 32.6% of GDP. At that, service exports accounted for 12.4%, domestic exports for 16.1% and re-exports contributed 4.2%. In comparison with the pre-coronavirus year 2019, only the contribution of service exports and re-exports to GDP contracted, at –1.3 and –0.1 percentage points, respectively. In addition to the aforementioned components of service trade that have not yet recovered from the pandemic, such as travel and travel-related services, there have also been changes in Dutch tax legislation, or announcements thereof that make it less attractive for multinationals to channel certain flows of money and services via the Netherlands. A previous study by CBS already showed that a number of large enterprises, possibly as a result of (announced) tax legislation, have implemented restructurings that are partly responsible for the backlog of service trade in 2020 and 2021. This mainly affected exports of business services (R&D services and professional and management services) and royalties (Poulissen et al., 2022).
Manufacturing enterprises collectively responsible for highest export earnings
Figure 6.2.3 shows the composition of value added per industry. In this figure, we see large differences between sectors in earnings by domestic expenditure and export. Export earnings include both the earnings from an industry’s direct exports and the earnings generated by an industry as a supplier to exporting industries.
Evidently, the government sectors public administration, education and healthcare add the most value through domestic expenditure. At a 75% share, domestic expenditure also serves as the major contributor to earnings for the financial services and the renting, buying, selling real estate sectors. Similarly, sectors such as the construction industry, the hotel and catering industry, and culture and recreation are also largely focused on the domestic market.
In trade, exports account for half of that industry’s total earnings, while in manufacturing, three-quarters of value added comes from exports; almost €71 billion, of which over €61 billion comes from domestic exports. Also, transportation and storage, agriculture and mining and quarrying are highly dependent on exports in terms of their earnings. This is a comparable picture to the situation in 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic.
| bedrijfstak | Domestic expenditure | Exports |
|---|---|---|
| Public administration, education and care |
174.2 | 3.9 |
| Business services | 58.8 | 53.5 |
| Trade | 55.2 | 55.8 |
| Financial services and real estate activities |
93.4 | 16.2 |
| Manufacturing | 23.6 | 70.7 |
| Information and communication |
21.6 | 20.6 |
| Construction | 37.1 | 3.7 |
| Transportation and storage | 9.9 | 27.0 |
| Energy supply, water companies and waste management |
10.9 | 6.1 |
| Agriculture, forestry and fishing | 3.0 | 10.9 |
| Culture, recreation and other services |
11.9 | 1.5 |
| Accommodation and food services | 9.6 | 2.2 |
| Mining and quarrying | 0.4 | 4.6 |
Figure 6.2.4 shows the export earnings of the seven industries that generated the most value added by exports in 2021, broken down by type of exports. We see major differences in types of exports by industry. Manufacturing, for instance, mostly generates earnings from domestic exports, as does agriculture. In most industries, re-exports do not play a significant role in generating earnings, except for those enterprises operating in the trade industry. Finally, we see the importance of service exports for several industries: business services, transportation and storage, information and communication and financial services. Not only are these predominantly service sectors; it was shown earlier in this section that service exports are relatively high in terms of value added.
Export earnings from business services lagged behind in 2021
For most industries, earnings in 2021 are higher than in 2019, only business services earned less from exports in 2021 than in the two years before. Not only had enterprises in this sector not yet (fully) recovered from the coronavirus crisis, previous research also showed that a number of enterprises were no longer passing large service flows through the Netherlands because of changes in the Dutch tax system, which may be one of the reasons for the drop in earnings in this industry. The drop in export earnings within this industry came mainly from travel agencies and enterprises involved in subcontracting and secondment, and leasing activities.
| Bedrijfstak | Jaar | Domestic exports | Re-exports | Service exports |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 2021*, Manufacturing | 61.3 | 2.1 | 7.3 |
| Manufacturing | 2019, Manufacturing | 56.6 | 1.6 | 7.0 |
| Trade | 2021*, Trade | 26.0 | 20.0 | 9.8 |
| Trade | 2019, Trade | 21.6 | 20.4 | 9.8 |
| Business services | 2021*, Business services | 15.0 | 4.5 | 34.0 |
| Business services | 2019, Business services | 14.5 | 4.7 | 36.1 |
| Transportation and storage |
2021*, Transportation and storage |
5.4 | 3.1 | 18.5 |
| Transportation and storage |
2019, Transportation and storage |
4.9 | 2.8 | 17.3 |
| Information and communication |
2021*, Information and communication |
3.4 | 1.6 | 15.6 |
| Information and communication |
2019, Information and communication |
2.5 | 1.1 | 15.2 |
| Financial services and real estate activities |
2021*, Financial services and real estate activities |
4.6 | 1.3 | 10.4 |
| Financial services and real estate activities |
2019, Financial services and real estate activities |
4.4 | 1.3 | 10.7 |
| Agriculture, forestry and fishing |
2021*, Agriculture, forestry and fishing |
10.2 | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Agriculture, forestry and fishing |
2019, Agriculture, forestry and fishing |
10.2 | 0.2 | 0.4 |
Nearly three-quarters of value added from machinery industry is due to domestic exports
Over 75% of value added from manufacturing is generated by the exports of goods and services, especially domestic exports. Figure 6.2.5 therefore focuses on the value added per sector. In terms of earnings, we see that the three largest sectors also generate the most value added from exports. Over 40% of the total value added created by manufacturing is gained from the exports of goods and services in the food, beverages and tobacco industry, the chemical industry and the machinery industry. For most sectors, domestic exports generate the most earnings; this is not surprising since manufacturing enterprises are generally engaged in their own production as opposed to in re-exporting or producing services. Most sectors specifically focus on the international market; only the furniture industry and the building materials industry generate more earnings from customers in the Netherlands than from exports. About two-thirds of their earnings are generated from domestic expenditure.
| bedrijfstak | Domestic exports | Re-exports | Service exports | Domestic expenditure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Machinery | 12.5 | 0.2 | 0.8 | 3.3 |
| Chemical | 10.7 | 0.1 | 1.7 | 0.5 |
| Food, beverages and tobacco |
11.7 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 4.6 |
| Metal products | 3.3 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 3.3 |
| Other manufacturing and repair |
2.7 | 0.2 | 1.3 | 3.3 |
| Electrotechnical | 2.9 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.5 |
| Timber, paper and graphic |
2.5 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 1.8 |
| Electrical appliance | 2.2 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.8 |
| Pharmaceutical | 2.3 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Motor vehicle and trailer | 2.5 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.5 |
| Rubber and plastics | 2.2 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.8 |
| Basic metal | 1.9 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.4 |
| Other transport equipment |
1.1 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.2 |
| Petroleum | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.2 |
| Textiles, clothing and leather |
0.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 |
| Building materials | 0.7 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 1.6 |
| Furniture | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.1 |
Top 10 destination countries all reported growth in export earnings
Figure 6.2.6 lists the ten countries with the highest export earnings for the Netherlands in 2021. Of all these countries, earnings grew in 2021 compared to 2019, with the smallest growth for Spain at 3%, followed by Germany, Italy and China (all three +4%) and the UK and France (both +5%). Travel earnings in particular showed a contraction for these countries. Re-exports caused the contraction in exports to the UK. In the period between 2019 and 2021, there was a significant growth in earnings from exports to Belgium (+7%), the US (+12%), Switzerland (+17%) and Ireland (+10%). While for exports to Belgium this was mainly due to growth in earnings from re-exports and domestic goods, for Switzerland, Ireland and the US, the growth was mainly attributable to service exports.
Although Poland ranked only just outside the top 10 in 2021, the Netherlands did earn substantially more from exports to that country than in 2019. The 19% growth was mainly attributable to an increase in the export earnings from domestic goods.
Value added by re-exports relatively high in export earnings from Germany
The Netherlands generates by far the most earnings from exports to Germany, which makes sense given Germany’s major share in total Dutch exports of goods and services. Over half of the export earnings from Germany in 2021 related to domestic exports, more than a quarter to service exports, which includes tourist travel, day trip travel and business travel from Germany.
Even though re-exports are higher in terms of gross export value than domestic exports, re-exports only attribute about 20% to total export earnings from Germany. This is due to the fact that we earn less from this type of exports than from exports of domestic products or services: the value of the imports needed is in fact much higher. Moreover, the share of re-exports in earnings from exports to Germany is relatively high at almost one-fifth of total earnings: in total export earnings, re-exports account for just under 13%. The reason for this is that Germany is a major destination of re-exports from the Netherlands.
Dutch earnings from exports to Belgium, France, Italy and Spain are similar to those of Germany: highest earnings from domestic exports with a share of around 50%, earnings from re-exports of 15–20% and earnings from service exports of around 30%. In terms of exports to the US, services led the way, accounting for 59% of earnings.
| Domestic exports | Re-exports | Service exports | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | 2021*, Germany | 26 | 9.7 | 13.5 |
| Germany | 2019*, Germany | 23.5 | 8.9 | 15 |
| UK | 2021*, UK | 10.5 | 2.1 | 13.5 |
| UK | 2019*, UK | 8.9 | 3.1 | 13 |
| Belgium | 2021*, Belgium | 13.4 | 3.9 | 6.6 |
| Belgium | 2019*, Belgium | 12.1 | 3.5 | 6.6 |
| US | 2021*, US | 7.6 | 0.9 | 12 |
| US | 2019*, US | 7.3 | 1 | 10.1 |
| France | 2021*, France | 9.5 | 3.6 | 5.5 |
| France | 2019*, France | 8.5 | 3.4 | 5.8 |
| Italy | 2021*, Italy | 5 | 1.9 | 2.6 |
| Italy | 2019*, Italy | 4.5 | 1.7 | 2.9 |
| Switzerland | 2021*, Switzerland | 1.8 | 0.6 | 6.4 |
| Switzerland | 2019*, Switzerland | 1.6 | 0.5 | 5.5 |
| Ireland | 2021*, Ireland | 1.1 | 0.5 | 5.9 |
| Ireland | 2019*, Ireland | 0.9 | 0.4 | 5.5 |
| Spain | 2021*, Spain | 3.5 | 1.5 | 2.2 |
| Spain | 2019*, Spain | 3.2 | 1.4 | 2.5 |
| China | 2021*, China | 5.1 | 0.4 | 1.4 |
| China | 2019*, China | 4.6 | 0.4 | 1.6 |
Fewer earnings from re-exports to the UK after Brexit...
The UK left the EU in 2020, but was still trading under the former terms with EU countries until 2021. Brexit was thus not effective in terms of trade until 1 January 2021. Comparing earnings on trade between 2020 and 2021, we can see that earnings on re-exports declined. Whereas value added by re-exports to the UK still accounted for 11.6% of the total in 2020, it had dropped to 7.9% in 2021. Not only did the share of re-export earnings in total export earnings to the UK decline, the absolute value also decreased by about 30%. Earnings from re-exports to all countries, however, grew by 14% between 2020 and 2021, as a result of which the figures for the UK show a starkly contrasting result. Post-Brexit, the Netherlands appears less attractive as a logistics hub for goods coming from elsewhere and going to the UK. An explanation can be seen in the fact that trade tariffs may have to be paid twice if the goods do not have a European origin: it is more advantageous to ship the goods directly to the UK (CBS, 2022c).
… yet exports of domestic products and services generated relatively high earnings
At the same time, the earnings from exports of domestic products to the UK rose by over 18% in 2021 compared to 2020, and the service export earnings (travel exceptednoot3) rose by almost 15%. That rise was thus higher than the growth of earnings from these two flows in total Dutch exports. As a consequence, Dutch enterprises generated less earnings from re-exports to the UK post-Brexit, but did generate relatively high earnings from service exports and domestic exports.
Earnings from exports to China stemming mainly from domestic products
Destinations where service export earnings are highest are those having major service-based economies: the UK, the US, Switzerland and Ireland. In 2021, the UK, the US, Switzerland and Ireland were thus important destinations for Dutch service exports. These are particularly well represented in the exports of financial services, telecommunication and computer services and business services. Moreover, the US and Switzerland in particular are also somewhat further away from the Netherlands, as a result of which we do not export or re-export many goods to them.
Finally, China is the odd one out in the top 10 destinations for exports, representing a share of more than 74% for the earnings from domestic goods. Especially high-quality Dutch products are exported to China, while a decent value of re-exports or services also go to other countries. Most of the value added by domestic exports to China was created by the food industry, the chemical industry and enterprises making machinery and equipment.
Major contribution of re-exports to GDP growth in 2021, contribution of services limited
Exports have a major impact on the Dutch economy. In 2020, when the Dutch economy contracted by 3.8%, exports of goods and services contributed 2.2 percentage points to the contraction.noot4
In 2021, the Dutch economy grew by 4.9%, of which 2.3 percentage points were attributable to exports of goods and services (Figure 6.2.7). Among these exports, domestic products contributed 1.1 percentage points to economic growth, re-exports contributed 0.5 percentage points and service exports contributed 0.6 percentage points. Considering the low earnings from re-exports per euro of exports, the contribution of re-exports in 2021 was remarkably substantial. Although the earnings from these types of exports are relatively low, at 14.2% they rose more sharply in 2021 compared to 2020 than the earnings from domestic exports (+13.9%) and service exports (+5.9%).
Whereas GDP contraction in 2020 was also due to a fair share of the contraction in service exports, exports of services account for only a small share of GDP growth in 2021. This again suggests limited recovery in service exports in 2021. However, this was not only the case in the Netherlands. UNCTAD already reported that global goods exports recovered relatively quickly from the pandemic and that service trade was still lagging in 2021, partly due to travel and transport services (UNCTAD, 2021).
These data reiterate the importance of exports to the Dutch economy and show that changes in exports can have a significant impact on a country’s economic growth or contraction.
| jaar | GDP growth | Domestic expenditure | Services exports | Re-exports | Domestic exports |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 2.2 | 2.2 | -0.7 | 0.2 | 0.5 |
| 2017 | 2.9 | 1.2 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0.6 |
| 2018 | 2.4 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 0.3 |
| 2019 | 2.0 | 1.4 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| 2020 | -3.9 | -1.6 | -1.6 | -0.4 | -0.3 |
| 2021* | 4.9 | 2.6 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 1.1 |
6.3Export-induced employment
The previous section showed that almost one-third of Dutch GDP is earned from exports of goods and services. In addition to value added, a key export consequence and measure of economic development is employment. This section examines the extent to which industries profit from exports in terms of employment, and which types of professions are linked to this.
In terms of employment linked to exports, consider, for example, producers of CNC (Computer Numerical Control) milling machines that are being exported. The enterprise employs installation mechanics, whose jobs are directly owed to exports. However, there are other jobs that are indirectly related to these exports: those of the IT workers who write the software used by the machine manufacturer, those of accountants at the accounting firm the manufacturer hires, and employees of enterprises that supply machinery parts.
In 2021, almost 2.4 million full-time jobs (FTE) in the Netherlands could be linked to exports; over 1 million direct jobs and over 1.3 million indirect jobs (Figure 6.3.1). That amounts to about 30.4% of total employment (FTE) in the Netherlands. Domestic exports account for 14.0% of total employment, re-exports for 3.7% and service exports contributed 12.7%. Re-exports generally do not involve in-house production processes, meaning that the employment created by this type of exports will mostly be in the wholesale trade and transport sectors.
Comparing the value added generated by Dutch exports (32.6% of GDP), we see that exports are relatively efficient: with 30.4% of total employment, 32.6% of GDP was generated by exports in 2021. Domestic exports top the list, accounting for 14% employment and more than 16% of the total value added. Re-exports also performed well with 3.7% and 4.2%, respectively. Only the exports of services showed the reverse: they needed 12.7% employment to generate 12.4% of GDP. The observation that exports require relatively few employees to add value may be related to the finding that exporting enterprises are on average more productive than those operating only in the domestic market (Bernard et al., 1995; Wagner, 2012). Higher productivity means exporters need fewer employees for their earnings than purely domestically-oriented enterprises.
Service exports created less jobs in 2021 than in 2019
Figure 6.3.2 shows the number of jobs linked to exports in 2021, and how this differs from 2019. In 2021, domestic exports created the most jobs, compared to service exports in 2019. Moreover, exports of domestic products are the only type of exports in which there has been an increase in employment: the rise in the number of jobs related to domestic exports was 2.5% over 2019. The number of FTEs attributable to re-exports and attributable to the exports of services fell by 3.2% and 7.9%, respectively. The biggest fall in employment due to exports of services occurred in enterprises engaged in staffing and secondment and in computer services.
Domestic exports mostly generate indirect jobs. Bohn et al. (2022) describe how ‘boxed services’ are increasingly starting to become part of Dutch exports. Indeed, a growing share of domestic products can no longer simply be called goods, but instead must be seen as a complex bundle of interactions between goods and services. This is increasingly creating jobs in upstream industries, which contribute to exports of finished products but do not export them themselves.
| categorie | jaar | Direct employment | Indirect employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic exports | 2019, Domestic exports | 426 | 641 |
| Domestic exports | 2021*, Domestic exports | 446 | 648 |
| Re-exports | 2019, Re-exports | 62 | 239 |
| Re-exports | 2021*, Re-exports | 39 | 252 |
| Service exports | 2019, Service exports | 584 | 486 |
| Service exports | 2021*, Service exports | 553 | 438 |
Figure 6.3.3 provides a breakdown of export-induced employment by industry. In absolute values, most export-generated jobs appear to be in business services enterprises, especially thanks to service exports. When it comes to this industry, there are also many indirect jobs involved in exports: many business services use other exporters in their production and operations. Examples include legal advice, accountants, administration, marketing or tax consultancy. The trade industry also creates a relatively large amount of indirect employment through exports, with all types of exports involved. Manufacturing enterprises, too, have much export-induced employment, especially with regard to domestic exports. Mainly direct employment thus applies to this industry.
| bedrijfstak | Domestic exports | Re-exports | Service exports |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business services | 220 | 60 | 377 |
| Manufacturing | 412 | 16 | 57 |
| Trade | 172 | 153 | 96 |
| Transportation and storage |
52 | 30 | 166 |
| Information and communication |
27 | 14 | 122 |
| Agriculture, forestry and fishing |
135 | 4 | 5 |
| Financial services and real estate activities |
12 | 3 | 39 |
| Accommodation and food services |
9 | 3 | 40 |
| Construction | 13 | 3 | 29 |
| Culture, recreation and other services |
10 | 2 | 28 |
| Public administration, education and healthcare |
13 | 3 | 24 |
| Energy supply, water companies and waste management |
17 | 1 | 5 |
| Mining and quarrying | 3 | 0 | 3 |
Fewer jobs in re-exports and service exports to the UK
Just as the Netherlands generates most earnings from exports to Germany, exports to our eastern neighbours also generated most employment in 2021. Figure 6.3.4 shows that nearly 422,000 FTE are directly or indirectly linked to exports to Germany, with domestic exports providing the most jobs at 210,000 FTE. Otherwise, the pattern is largely the same as for earnings: employment created through service exports is relatively high among exports to the US, the UK, Ireland and Switzerland; employment created through re-exports is highest in absolute figures among nearby countries (Germany, France and Belgium) and, finally, domestic exports generate relatively the most jobs among the countries where goods exports are most important (Germany, Belgium, France, Italy and China). The top 10 export partners, shown in Figure 6.3.4, account for 65% of the total employment attributable to exports in the Netherlands.
Despite total employment associated with exports declining, the number of jobs related to exports did not decline between 2019 and 2021 for all individual countries in Figure 6.3.4. Germany, the UK, Italy, Spain and China showed a slight contraction. Employment created through exports to the US, Switzerland and Ireland was in fact higher in 2021 than in 2019. Among these countries, it was particularly service exports that generated more jobs, though in contrast, it was not travel that accounted for the overall decline in employment due to service exports in Figure 6.3.2.
| Landen | Domestic exports | Re-exports | Service exports |
|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | 210 | 79 | 133 |
| UK | 89 | 17 | 124 |
| Belgium | 102 | 32 | 64 |
| US | 61 | 7 | 104 |
| France | 78 | 29 | 51 |
| Switzerland | 15 | 5 | 57 |
| Italy | 38 | 15 | 25 |
| Ireland | 10 | 4 | 54 |
| Spain | 29 | 12 | 20 |
| China | 42 | 3 | 14 |
Occupations and their allocation of time for exports and domestic expenditure
Most hours per week, approximately 57 million, or one-fifth of all hours worked, are worked in business and administrative occupations. This occupational class also demonstrates significant involvement in exports, with about 20 million hours a week spent on activities related to exporting goods and services. See Figure 6.3.5 for a breakdown by occupation type. These occupations will often be linked to business services, which support high volumes of exports, especially indirectly. Technical occupations represent 16% of all hours worked and account for one-fifth of all hours worked for exports. As the industry creating the most value added by exports, manufacturing holds most of these occupations.
Agricultural occupations and transport-related occupations in particular depend heavily on exports. Approximately 58% of the hours worked per week in agricultural occupations are spent on activities to enable exports. These hours are worked for both exports by the agricultural sector itself and for exports by other sectors that use agricultural intermediate goods for their own production. Transport-related occupations work about half the time for exports. Examples include freight forwarders, who are responsible for the organisation and coordination of international transport and logistics activities, and lorry drivers, who transport the goods.
Conversely, educational and care sector occupations and occupations in the public administration are much less dependent on exports. These occupations are less directly related to international trade and have a smaller impact on exports of goods and services abroad.
| Beroep | For domestic expenditure | For exports |
|---|---|---|
| Business and administrative occupations | 37.24 | 19.94 |
| Technical occupations | 27.38 | 18.19 |
| Care and welfare occupations | 34.08 | 2.14 |
| Sales and PR occupations | 19.97 | 11.38 |
| ICT occupations | 10.54 | 7.74 |
| Teaching occupations | 17.28 | 0.97 |
| Transport and logistic occupations |
8.28 | 8.44 |
| Service occupations | 12.91 | 3.07 |
| Public administration, protective services and legal occupations |
9.28 | 1.7 |
| Artistic and linguistic occupations | 4.6 | 3.43 |
| Managers | 2.86 | 3.79 |
| Agricultural occupations | 2.47 | 3.46 |
| Other | 0.76 | 0.69 |
37% of the hours worked by self-employed people are for exports
Figure 6.3.6 compares the hours worked for domestic and foreign markets in 2021 by type of contract. This shows that self-employed people spend relatively the most time working for exports: 37% of the hours worked are related to exports. This is because self-employed people fairly often work in industries that are (directly or indirectly) dependent on exports. Most hours per week are worked by people on permanent contracts, where three in ten of the hours worked were for exports in 2021. In the case of people on fixed-term contracts, the share of hours worked for exports is somewhat smaller, at 28%.
| Type contract | For exports | For domestic expenditure |
|---|---|---|
| Permanent contract | 52 | 119 |
| Fixed-term contract | 17 | 44 |
| Self-employed | 19 | 33 |
6.4References
References
Bernard, A. B., Jensen, J. B. & Lawrence, R. Z. (1995). Exporters, jobs, and wages in US manufacturing: 1976–1987. Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Microeconomics, 1995(1995), 67–119.
Bohn, T., Notten, T., Prenen, L. & Wong, K. F. (2022). Diensten in dozen: de rol van indirecte dienstenexport. In D. Herbers & J. Rooyakkers (Red), Internationalisation Monitor 2022, second quarter: International trade in services: developments and barriers (English executive summary included). The Hague/Heerlen/Bonaire: Statistics Netherlands.
CBS (2022a). Nederlandse importeurs betaalden in mei 2022 bijna een derde meer. The Hague/Heerlen/Bonaire: Statistics Netherlands.
CBS (2022b). Foreign spending by Dutch travellers higher than pre-pandemic. The Hague/Heerlen/Bonaire: Statistics Netherlands.
CBS (2022c). Fewer goods, more services to the UK in 2021 (cbs.nl). The Hague/Heerlen/Bonaire: Statistics Netherlands.
CBS (2023). Dashboard economische groei. The Hague/Heerlen/Bonaire: Statistics Netherlands.
Kranendonk, H. & Verbruggen, J. (2008). Decomposition of GDP Growth in Some European Countries and the United States. The Economist, 156(3), 295–306.
Poulissen, D., Rooyakkers, J. & Smit, R. (2022). De internationale dienstenhandel in woelige tijden. In D. Herbers & J. Rooyakkers (Red), Internationalisation Monitor 2022, second quarter: International trade in services: developments and barriers (English executive summary included). The Hague/Heerlen/Bonaire: Statistics Netherlands.
UNCTAD (2021). Global merchandise trade exceeds pre-COVID-19 level, but services recovery falls short. Geneva: United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
Wagner, J. (2012). International trade and firm performance: a survey of empirical studies since 2006. Review of World Economics, 148(2), 235–267.
Noten
At the time of writing, 2021 is the most recent full year for which data are available from the National Accounts. The other chapters on international trade in goods (Chapters 2 and 3) and services (Chapter 4) use the source statistics International Trade in Goods and International Trade in Services, respectively, so 2022 can already be described in those chapters.
The figures presented in this chapter are based on figures of the National Accounts. The ownership criterion is central in the National Accounts, which means certain transactions abroad can be counted as Dutch imports and exports even if the traded goods have not physically entered the Netherlands. Partly because of this, the figures in this chapter and in Chapter 7 differ from those reported in Chapters 2, 3 and 4, which focus on the principle of border crossing.
Given that travel plummeted in the period of the coronavirus pandemic, the comparison between 2020 and 2021 does give a distorted view of this type of service. By excluding travel, we can distil more clearly from the figures how trade has changed after Brexit. Travel is included in the remainder of the chapter.
Figures based on the method of Kranendonk and Verbruggen (2008), which attempt to provide a more accurate overview of the contribution to growth by type of exports, by taking imports into account that are allocated to all final expenditure categories. This reduces the underestimate of the contribution of exports to GDP as is the case with the internationally agreed method for compiling National Accounts.