Netherlands Job Market 2026: Fields, Cities and Skills

Thinking about working in the Netherlands? A market with 252,765 open jobs sounds like plenty of room. As of November 5, 2026, JobRise tracks that many open jobs in the Netherlands, and 185,472 (73%) were posted in the last 30 days. Before you get excited, know that one source supplies 97% of these listings, so the picture is narrower than the total suggests.

The sections below cover where the jobs are, which skills employers name, how English and Dutch compare, and what the data cannot tell an expat.

What this data covers#

These are jobs JobRise tracks from employer career pages and public job boards, as of November 5, 2026. It is not the whole Dutch job market. One source, EURES, a European job portal, supplies 246,441 of the jobs, which is 97% of the report. So the freshness, field and skill numbers mostly describe EURES listings.

JobRise started tracking on October 14, 2026. New-job counts only go back that far, and 437 jobs that were already open then have no known posting date, so they are left out of those counts. The full report is at /en/reports/hiring/netherlands/.

When the Dutch jobs were posted#

The daily chart shows counts climbing sharply in late October, from 8,216 new jobs on October 27 to 18,760 on November 4. The largest single day is November 3, with 45,789 new jobs.

A spike like that usually means a source was added or refreshed in JobRise. It does not mean employers suddenly started hiring. Do not plan around it, and do not read the freshness numbers as a sign of a hiring rush. The last bar, November 5, is a partial day with only 4 jobs.

Netherlands job market 2026 by field#

Skilled trades is the largest field, with 28,880 open jobs (11%). Logistics (8.8%) and manufacturing (7.9%) follow. Those three fields account for much of the listed market.

Two notes on that table. Categories come from job titles and departments using keyword rules, so a label is a best guess from the wording. Also, "Other" holds 102,228 jobs (40%) that the rules could not classify. It is not a field, so it is not in the table, and it is the biggest reason the table does not add up to the total.

If you are in tech, the honest read is that software is 1.7% of listed jobs and Data and AI is 0.4%. Those roles exist, but this market is not mostly tech. A tech skill next to a trade, logistics or operations background may get you more interviews than a pure tech profile.

Employers and temp agencies#

The largest named employer is aaff B.V., with 323 open jobs (0.1%). The top 15 employers together hold 0.8% of all open jobs, so the listings are spread across a very large number of employers.

Several names are temp agencies. "Uitzendbureau" means temp agency in Dutch, so Bullseye Uitzendbureau and Het Uitzendbureau are placing workers for other companies. The report counts the employer named on the posting, so check who will actually employ you.

Titles are often in Dutch. "Medewerker Bureau Geneesheer-Directeur" and "Verkeersregelaar" are two examples from the top employers. A title that starts with "Stage" or "Afstudeerstage" is an internship, not a permanent job. Read the title in full before you apply.

Cities: Amsterdam leads, but the list is thin#

Amsterdam is the largest named city, with 1,729 open jobs (0.7%). After that come Utrecht with 510 (0.2%), Rotterdam with 238 (0.1%), Eindhoven with 221 (0.1%) and Leiden with 160 (0.1%).

The city field is thin. Most listings do not show up under one of these names, so do not treat this list as a full map of the country. Check the location line on each posting.

Remote share: small, and limited to the country#

Of the 5,500 jobs from sources that mark whether a role is remote, 464 are remote. That is 8.4%.

Two cautions. EURES, which holds most listings, does not mark remote work, so the 8.4% describes a small slice of the 252,765 open jobs. Also, the report counts remote roles limited to applicants in the Netherlands. A remote job here does not mean an employer will let you work from another country.

Skills Dutch employers ask for in 2026#

Skills are ranked by the number of companies whose open jobs name them, so one employer's copied text cannot top the list. The 30-day change compares the skill's share of jobs posted in the last 30 days with its share in the 30 days before.

English is the most-named skill, and Dutch is second. Excel is named in 2,223 open jobs, the most of any skill, although it is named by 92 companies. Every skill in the top 15 has a negative 30-day change, which means the share of newly posted jobs naming each one is lower than in the 30 days before. The report does not say why.

English versus Dutch by field#

A skill named in a posting is not a fluency rule, and that matters most here. This table shows how many employers name each language in a few fields.

In sales, more employers name Dutch than English. In software, engineering and data, English is the language that shows up in the skill list. Even so, English appears in only 0.4% of the open jobs in this report, so most listings do not name it at all.

The data does not show whether a posting is written in English or Dutch, or how many roles require Dutch. Dutch is named in 961 open jobs, which is not the same as a Dutch requirement. Read the language line on every posting.

Rising skills#

JobRise marks a skill as rising when it is up more than 25%, in at least 50 open jobs, at 20 or more companies. Four skills qualify in the Netherlands data:

• Prototyping: 31 companies, 514 open jobs, +205% in 30 days.
• MIG/MAG welding: 35 companies, 1,894 open jobs, +61%.
• TIG welding: 35 companies, 1,675 open jobs, +55%.
• Driver CPC: 33 companies, 4,104 open jobs, +53%.

Rising means more job posts name the skill, not that it pays more. Welding and driver qualifications match the trades and logistics fields that have the most openings in this report. If you have either, write the exact certificate or skill name on your resume.

Expats: visas, language and what to check#

The data does not show visa sponsorship, residence permits, or whether a permit is needed for your passport. Whether you need a permit to work in the Netherlands depends on your passport and the role, and this report cannot answer that.

Check three things on every posting before you apply:

• The visa or permit line. Some postings say nothing about it.
• The language line. Look for Dutch or English requirements in the posting, not just the skill list.
• The employer. If the posting is from a temp agency, confirm who will employ you and on what terms.

Check official Dutch government sources for the current rules before you give up a job or plan a move.

What to do this week#

1. Start with the fields that match your background. Skilled trades, logistics and manufacturing have the most listed jobs. Sales and customer support are also strong if your English or Dutch fits.
2. Check the language line. In sales, more employers name Dutch than English. Skip roles where the language does not match what you can do, and aim the rest at the postings that name English.
3. Read the full title. Check for "Stage" or "Afstudeerstage" (internship) and for temp agency names before you apply.
4. Match your resume to the posting's words. If a posting names MIG/MAG welding, Driver CPC, CRM or Excel, use that exact term where it is true. Run one posting through the free ATS check.
5. Decode unfamiliar postings. Paste any Dutch or hard posting into the job description decoder before you decide.
6. Apply in small batches. Use the cover letter tool for each role, and read how to tailor your resume for each job.

Browse live listings at /en/jobs/in/netherlands/, and see skills by field on /en/skills/netherlands/.

If you are moving to the Netherlands from abroad#

Use this data to choose roles and skills from wherever you are. English is named by 254 companies, the remote share is 8.4% of the jobs that say whether they are remote, and the largest fields are trades, logistics and manufacturing. The data does not show permits, visas or language levels, so verify those on each posting and with official sources.

Want to see how your resume scores against a Dutch posting? Run the free ATS check, or browse all free tools. Free, no signup.