Dutch startups have created 130,000 jobs in the Netherlands

In our third annual edition of the Dutch startup jobs report in partnership with TechLeap and CBRE, we’ve found that startups in the Netherlands have created 130,000 local jobs across the country. Since 2018, startup jobs have grown at an average annual rate of 8%.

VC-backed jobs

VC investment and growing enterprise value are drivers of this constant job growth. In 2021, €5 billion has been invested in Dutch startups so far, three times more than in all of 2020. This makes the Netherlands the third fastest growing European ecosystem for VC investments. The total enterprise value of the Dutch startup ecosystem is now set at €296 billion.

Dutch VC funding

"The war for talent is real. Demand for tech talent is higher than ever before and key to economic growth. We can't stress the importance of inclusive tech education enough!"

Distribution of employment

The jobs being created by startups range far beyond technical jobs. Among the most vacancies currently open are those in sales, business development, legal, HR or customer support.

The report shows that health, fintech, ecommerce, energy, foodtech are the fastest growing sectors for employment. 70% of newly created jobs are in these sectors. Ecommerce has the highest annual growth of more than 16% since January 2020.

Not just Amsterdam

The jobs are spread all over the Netherlands, with the majority outside the Amsterdam Hub and the wider province of North Holland. Groningen (with a growth of 10.5% between 2018 and now) and Noord-Brabant (fastest growing ecosystem with the creation of 4,500 local jobs since 2018) differ from the other provinces when looking at job growth.

“The constant growth shows that the ecosystem is becoming more mature. An important consequence is that there is a huge demand for talent. The current Dutch labor market is currently unprecedentedly tight and many startups are struggling to find and retain the right talent. In order to be able to take the next step in this area, it is important that in the short term the Dutch government looks at a competitive tax rate for employee participation and the recognition of private coding schools. And that in the long term there is a clear strategy to increase the current talent pool with both Dutch and foreign talent.”