Number of people working up to the state pension age fails to increase for the second year in a row

In the second quarter of 2026, 9.6 million people in the Netherlands were working. These people were between the ages of 15 and the state pension age. This figure has remained almost unchanged for two years.

In the preceding years, the number of people in work continued to increase. The rest of the population did grow, reaching more than 8.5 million people. This group consists of people under the age of 15, people who do not work, and people above the state pension age.

On average, people also work slightly fewer hours per week than they did previously. This is according to Statistics Netherlands (Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek, or CBS). In 2014, there were far fewer people in work.

At the time, the difference between people in work and those not working was almost 500,000. Since 2014, the number of people in work has continued to rise. In 2024, there were almost 9.6 million.

The number of people not working declined until 2024, but increased slightly over the past two years. The number of older people in particular is now increasing. More people are receiving the state pension.

A growing number of state pension recipients also continue working after retirement. In 2026, 9.5 percent of state pension recipients were still working, compared with 7.2 percent in 2014. The number of children under the age of 15, by contrast, is declining.

The group of people aged 55 up to the state pension age has grown more slowly over the past three years. Previously, the number of older workers rose quickly because the state pension age was increasing. Now, fewer are being added.

The same is true of people aged between 25 and 45. The number of people aged between 45 and 55 who are working has been falling for nine years. Not only are there fewer people in this group, but a smaller proportion of them are still working.

People are also working slightly fewer hours on average. Men aged between 25 and the state pension age worked an average of 39.4 hours per week in 2022 and 38.6 hours in 2026. Women in the same group, by contrast, are working slightly more: the figure was 29.8 hours per week in 2022 and 30.2 hours in 2026.

Looking at full-time jobs, there were 90 jobs per 100 people in the rest of the population in 2026. In 2024, that figure was still 92 jobs per 100 people. This means that, because more people are not working and those in work are working slightly fewer hours, there are somewhat fewer full-time jobs.