Well-being ‘here and now’: labour and leisure time
- More and more people are in work. Net labour participation rose to 73.1 percent in 2023, the highest ever recorded and the highest in the EU27.
- Weekly working hours of workers are decreasing.
- Long-term unemployment and concerns about job security are decreasing.
- Satisfaction with work and leisure time is high, and the percentage of workers reporting that they do not have a good work-life balance is decreasing.
Labour and leisure time
in EU
in 2022
in EU
in 2022
in EU
in 2022
in EU
in 2018
in EU
in 2017
| Theme | Indicator | Value | Trend | Position in EU | Position in EU ranking |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour and leisure time | Long-term unemployment | 0.5% of the labour force had been unemployed for one year or more in 2023 | decreasing (increase well-being) | 3rd out of 27 in 2022 | High ranking |
| Labour and leisure time | Net labour participation | 73.1% of population aged 15-74 in 2023 | increasing (increase well-being) | 1st out of 27 in 2022 | High ranking |
| Labour and leisure time | Higher educated population | 36.4% of the population aged 15-74 have a higher education degree in 2023 | increasing (increase well-being) | 7th out of 27 in 2022 | High ranking |
| Labour and leisure time | Satisfaction with leisure time | 73.7% of the population over 18 are satisfied or very satisfied in 2023 | 6th out of 27 in 2018 | High ranking | |
| Labour and leisure time | Time lost due to traffic congestion and delays | 3.28 vehicle hours lost per capita in 2022 | |||
| Labour and leisure time | Satisfaction with work (employees) B) | 78.9% of employees aged 15-74 are satisfied or very satisfied in 2023 | 7th out of 27 in 2017 | High ranking |
Colour codes and notes to the dashboards in the Monitor of Well-being
This part of the dashboard indicates stable or increasing well-being, with positions in the leading group in Europe. Nowhere else in the EU is labour participation as high as in the Netherlands. In 2023, 73.1 percent of the population aged 15 to 74 years had paid work, and the trend is upward. Unemployment remained low, although slightly more people were out of work than in 2022. The share of the workforce experiencing long-term unemployment (longer than one year) is also small at 0.5 percent. These two labour-market indicators are trending downward, and here, too, the Netherlands performs relatively well compared with other EU countries.
The dashboard for SDG 8.2 Decent work and economic growth: labour and leisure provides more insight into workers’ perceptions. Notably it shows that 7.2 percent of workers report a poor work-life balance. This percentage is decreasing. While labour participation is very high, the actual number of weekly hours worked per worker in the Netherlands is one of the lowest within the EU. Concerns among employees about job security are steadily decreasing, partly because of the currently tight labour market and low unemployment rate. Additionally, an increasing share of employees are free to decide how to get their work done. However, work-related mental fatigue is increasing. In 2023, it affected 18.1 percent of workers.
People in work were more satisfied with the amount of leisure time during the COVID pandemic than they had been before, but after the pandemic satisfaction levels fell again. COVID prevention measures strongly reduced mobility during pandemic, but since then road traffic congestion has increased again. Travel time lost on the main road network due to congestion and delays, a source of frustration for many people, doubled in 2022 from 2021, according to initial data from Rijkswaterstaat. More indicators on these topics are included under the relevant SDGs.
The distribution of well-being across population groups shows that individuals with higher education levels – a university or higher vocational education degree – generally achieve higher levels of well-being across various societal aspects. The Netherlands has a relatively high-educated population. The share of the population aged 15 to 74 years who have completed higher education rose from 30.6 percent in 2016 to 36.4 percent in 2023. While education’s contribution to well-being is measured in terms of the relative size of the higher education population, this does not detract from other forms of education, such as vocational training, craftsmanship, and informal learning.
The dashboard for SDG 4 Quality education shows that participation in pre-school education in the Netherlands is high, the percentage of early school leavers is trending downwards, and nearly a quarter of Dutch people aged 25 to 74 years participated in some form of education in the four weeks preceding the survey in 2022. In the EU, the Netherlands ranks among the leaders on these three indicators. Digital skills will be crucial in the future. In 2023, 82.7 percent of 16- to 74-year-olds possessed at least basic-level skills, the highest percentage in the EU. There is a notable upward trend in satisfaction with learning opportunities: 83.5 percent of the population expressed satisfaction in 2023. The tight labour market may be a factor in this respect: employers may be more eager to offer training opportunities to current employees. The other side of the coin is the outcome of the most recent PISA study. While there are not enough data points to calculate a medium-term trend, it is evident that reading and mathematics skills of Dutch 15-year-olds have declined. Work-related mental fatigue is trending upwards.