Care sector has the most female workers

© ANP / Berlinda van Dam
There were 11.5 million jobs in the Dutch economy in 2023, up from 8 million in 1995. The health and welfare sector was the largest sector in 2023, providing over 1.8 million jobs, 80 percent of which were occupied by women. Women also hold the majority of jobs in education, while in 1995 the number of men and women working in education was roughly equal. By contrast, in the construction sector - one of the smaller sectors with about 0.7 million jobs - nearly 90 percent of jobs were held by men. Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reports this based on the latest figures.

Female workers in the majority in the care sector

The number of jobs in the health and welfare sector almost doubled between 1995 and 2023 to reach over 1.8 million, meaning that this sector had the most jobs in the Netherlands in 2023. The ratio of men to women remained largely unchanged however: in 2023, more than 80 percent of care jobs were held by women. In 1995, 78 percent of jobs in the sector were occupied by women.

 

More jobs in education, mostly done by women

In 1995, the almost 500 thousand jobs in the education sector were divided roughly equally between men and women. Over the years, however, the number of jobs held by men has remained almost stable at around 250 thousand, while the number of jobs held by women has risen to 474 thousand. In 2023, women occupied nearly two-thirds of all jobs in education. The education sector includes all forms of public and private education, including regular education as well as cultural, sports and recreational education for non-professionals and driving schools for cars and motorcycles.

Construction: a man’s world

Around 90 percent of jobs in the construction sector are held by men. The number of jobs in the sector grew by 22 percent between 1995 and 2023. Growth in the sector was entirely due to the increase in self-employment, which included as many as 46 percent of all construction jobs in 2023.

Sources

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