Decline in trade union membership continues

© ANP / Danny van den Berg
In 2023, 15 percent of workers aged between 15 and 75 were members of a trade union. This continues the decline of recent years; in 2018, 18 percent of all workers were trade union members. Men are more likely to be union members than women: 17 percent versus 14 percent in 2023. Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reports this on the basis of the Netherlands Working Conditions Survey, conducted by CBS and the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO).

Decline in union membership in 55-64 age group, in particular

The percentage of workers who are trade union members increases with age until the 55-64 age group. Between 2018 and 2023, trade union membership declined the most in this age group: 25 percent of workers aged 55 to 64 were union members in 2023, compared with 31 percent in 2018. Among 45 to 54-year-olds, union membership dropped from 22 percent to 18 percent. It also decreased among the younger age groups, but to a lesser extent than in the older age groups. The average age of trade union members in 2023 was 47 years, compared to 40 years among non-members.


Unionisation is the highest in public administration and education

People who work in public administration were the most likely to be members of a trade untion, at 27 percent. The percentages were also relatively high in education (26 percent) and in transportation and storage (24 percent). On the other hand, those who work in information and communication were the least likely to be union members, at 6 percent. Relatively few workers in specialised business services (such as accountants, tax consultants, architects and engineers) and in accommodation and food services (both 7 percent) were trade union members.


Employees of larger organisations relatively more likely to be union members

Union membership is higher among those working in larger organisations than among employees of smaller firms. Among employees working in firms that employ 1 to 5 people, 9 percent were union members, while in firms with 1,000 or more employees the share was 20 percent.

In 2023, employees on permanent contracts were twice as likely to be union members as those who worked in flexible employment: 18 percent versus 9 percent. Furthermore, workers covered by a collective labour agreement (19 percent) were much more likely to be union members than those without a collective labour agreement (7 percent).


The figures reported in this news release are based on a survey among employed persons and are thus related to union membership among employees. Statistics Netherlands (CBS) also publishes biannual figures on the number of union members (only available in Dutch) based on a survey of trade unions. There were 1.4 million union members in 2023. Trade union members are not exclusively employed persons. They can also be people not in employment (because they are unemployed, in education or retired, for example) or self-employed.

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