Netherlands leads the world in part-time jobs
Compared with other European countries, the Netherlands has an exceptionally high number of people with a part-time job. Women, particularly, often work part-time.
Last year, nearly half of those working in the Netherlands had a job of less than 35 hours a week. Second came Norway, where the proportion is less than 30 percent. The European average for part-timers was at 18 percent, the Central Bureau for Statistics (CBS) reported yesterday.
Seventy-five percent of all working women in the Netherlands had a part-time job last year. The European average was 33 percent. The proportion of part-timers among Dutch men was also by far the highest internationally, at 23 percent.
In 2005, 73 percent of 15 to 64 year olds were working in the Netherlands. The average in the EU was 64 percent. Only Iceland, Denmark and Norway have higher work participation in Europe. Work participation in the Netherlands is comparable to that in Sweden, the UK and the US.
The work participation of Dutch men is among the world’s highest at 80 percent. Among the women, 66 percent work, also relatively high, although here the Netherlands holds a somewhat lower position in the international ranking order.
Source: NIS News, 30 October 2006
