Over the past five years, the number of self-employed people under 30 in the Netherlands has increased significantly, accounting for 12.7 percent of the total number of self-employed people in our country. This places the Netherlands among the top European countries, along with countries such as Malta, Slovakia and Lithuania. In contrast to the Netherlands, Belgium - at almost 4 percent - has actually seen a decline in the number of young self-employed people. This is shown in the most recent Talent Monitor, a joint study by labor market data specialist Intelligence Group and HR-tech service provider HeadFirst Group.

Older people dominate self-employed market in Europe
In the European Union (EU-27), nearly one-third of self-employed workers are 55 or older (31.7 percent). This group is more than three times larger than the group under 30. The percentage of over-55s is especially large in Sweden (55.1 percent), Germany (47.5 percent) and Ireland (46.9 percent). Geert-Jan Waasdorp, director and founder of Intelligence Group, explains, "In these countries, where traditional permanent jobs are often associated with high status, being self-employed may be a final career step or a way to make room for a new generation. This trend is partly explained by an aging population, but cultural factors also play a role."

Over the past decade, the number of 55-plus self-employed has grown 1.4 percent annually. The growth of self-employed people under the age of 30 was slightly faster in the last five years: 1.7 percent annually. At 0.7 percent, the increase in the Netherlands was below that average. During this period, the number of young self-employed people declined rapidly in Belgium (-3.8 percent). A decrease was also visible in Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia and Slovenia, there even by more than 6 percent. The highest percentage of young self-employed can be found in Malta (14.7 percent), followed by Slovakia, Lithuania, Iceland and the Netherlands (12.7 percent). Despite the increase, the number of young people opting for self-employment in Europe remains relatively small relative to the total labor force.

Stable self-employed market in Europe
Europe currently has nearly 20 million self-employed workers, representing 8.8 percent of the total labor force. Whereas the Dutch self-employed market has been growing by at least 1.4 percent for years, the share of self-employed in Europe remains fairly stable. Countries such as Hungary and Switzerland have seen significant growth, while countries such as Romania and Germany have seen a decline in the number of self-employed. Greece has the highest percentage of self-employed, with nearly 18 percent of the labor force. Norway has the lowest percentage, with only 3.8 percent. Differences in percentages include cultural preferences for self-employment and tax schemes that encourage entrepreneurship in certain countries.

Marion van Happen, CEO of HeadFirst Group, says: "These figures confirm that the Dutch labor market has a unique position within Europe. This insight helps international clients who want to fine-tune their recruitment strategies and freelancers who want to gain insight into the unique characteristics of their field in the Netherlands compared to other European countries. But also for policymakers and politicians to put the labor market in a broader European perspective, which we also recently mappedspecifically for zzp legislation."

The full report is available for download at headfirst.group.