Where do most people work?

In 2021, the Dutch working population consisted of 9.8 million people. More than half of them worked in commercial services within sectors such as trade, transport, business services, recreation and culture. More than a quarter of the Dutch working population worked in public services, while around one sixth worked in goods production.

Most people worked in business services, trade, including wholesale trade and retail trade, and healthcare sectors. Those are also sectors where relatively many women work. By contrast, agriculture, manufacturing and construction counted far more men than women.

Show datatableWorking population by sector, 2020 (x 1,000)Hide datatableWorking population by sector, 2020 (x 1,000)

Working population by sector, 2020 (x 1,000)

	Men	Women
Goods production	.	.
Manufacturing	617	180
Construction	462	55
Agriculture, forestry and fishing	135	67
Water companies and waste management	30	6
Energy supply	21	7
Mining and quarrying	7	1
Commercial services	.	.
Business services	1038	944
Trade	836	682
Accommodation and food services	217	207
Culture, sports and recreation	155	260
Transportation and storage	310	96
Information and communication	243	85
Financial services	121	93
Real estate activities	40	35
Public services	.	.
Health care and welfare	274	1251
Education	200	362
Public administration and government services	283	223

Shift towards a more services-based economy

In recent decades, employment in the goods production sector has declined in favour of that in services. Employment growth was particularly steep in business services and healthcare. The number of employed persons in sectors such as agriculture and manufacturing declined.

While the share of goods production in total employment stood at nearly 40 percent in 1969, over half a century later it more than halved to 16 percent. During the same period, the share of commercial services increased from 41 to 56 percent. Furthermore, the share of employment in public service climbed from 20 percent in 1969 to about 28 percent in 2021.

The shift towards a more services-based Dutch economy is a process that has been happening gradually over the past decades. The share of goods-producing industries fell as production shifted to low-wage countries and as many activities were outsourced to the services sector. Moreover, high labour productivity growth, especially in agriculture and manufacturing, meant that fewer and fewer people were needed to meet demand. Increasing wealth is another factor adding to the shift towards a more services-based economy. Increasing wealth means more income for secondary needs, including most services.

Show datatableDistribution of employed persons by sector, the Netherlands (%)Hide datatableDistribution of employed persons by sector, the Netherlands (%)

Distribution of employed persons by sector, the Netherlands (%)

	Commercial services	Public services	Goods production
1969	41	20	39
1970	41	20	39
1971	42	21	38
1972	42	22	37
1973	42	22	36
1974	42	23	35
1975	42	23	34
1976	43	24	33
1977	42	25	33
1978	43	25	32
1979	43	25	32
1980	44	25	31
1981	44	26	30
1982	44	27	29
1983	45	27	28
1984	45	27	28
1985	46	27	27
1986	46	27	27
1987	47	27	27
1988	47	26	26
1989	48	26	26
1990	49	26	26
1991	49	25	26
1992	50	25	25
1993	50	25	25
1994	51	25	24
1995	52	24	24
1996	53	24	23
1997	54	23	23
1998	54	23	22
1999	55	23	22
2000	55	23	22
2001	55	24	21
2002	55	24	21
2003	54	25	20
2004	54	26	20
2005	54	26	20
2006	55	26	19
2007	56	26	19
2008	56	26	19
2009	55	27	18
2010	54	28	18
2011	55	27	18
2012	55	28	17
2013	55	28	17
2014	56	27	17
2015	56	27	17
2016	57	26	17
2017	57	26	16
2018	57	26	16
2019	57	26	16
2020	56	27	17
2021	56	28	16

Relatively large services sector in the Netherlands

A shift towards a more services-based economy has also been observed in other countries. Compared to our neighbouring countries and some other European countries, the Netherlands has a relatively high share of services in total employment. The share of goods producers in employment is more substantial in Germany and Italy in particular. The same applies to the EU on average. Sweden has a relatively large public service sector.

Show datatableDistribution employed persons by sector for several European countries, 2021 (%)Hide datatableDistribution employed persons by sector for several European countries, 2021 (%)

Distribution employed persons by sector for several European countries, 2021 (%)

	Goods production	Commercial services	Public services
Netherlands	16	56	28
Belgium	18	51	31
France	19	51	29
Spain	21	55	24
Sweden	22	44	34
Germany	25	49	26
EU 27	27	49	24
Italy	27	54	19

The questions

1. How does CBS collect data?
2. How much do we cycle per week on average?
3. Who are most likely to work part-time?
4. How many people visited Bonaire by cruise ship?
5. Are people happy with the house they live in?
6. How many young women encounter street harassment?
7. What do the over-65s do online?
8. How many wind turbines in the Netherlands?
9. How far is school by bike?
10. How many museums are there?
11. How much electricity in the Caribbean Netherlands is renewable?
12. How many adults are overweight?
13. How many cargo ships dock at Dutch seaports?
14. What did we listen to on the radio in 1953?
15. What is the average lifespan in the Netherlands?
16. Where did we go for a holiday in 1947?
17. How much fish is landed?
18. Where were people in the Netherlands born?
19. What do we spend money on?
20. How old are Dutch first-time mothers on average?
21. How much cheese do we produce?
22. How are goods transported through the Netherlands?
23. How many people fall victim to cybercrime?
24. What is the most spoken language or dialect at home?
25. How many shops are there?
26. What is the value of Dutch beer exports?
27. How often do we have a goosebump moment?
28. How many cows graze in fields?
29. What are the most popular majors?
30. How tall are Dutch people?
31. How is the urban bird population doing?
32. Where do most people work?
33. What colour is our car?
34. How does CBS handle your privacy?