Social work staff numbers in Netherlands hit ten-year high

The number of people working in social work in the Netherlands reached 71,400 in the final quarter of 2025, the highest in a decade, according to national statistics office CBS.

The workforce has grown faster over the past ten years than the care and welfare sector as a whole and than the economy at large. From a low of 47,900 in early 2015, numbers rose by 44% between the end of 2015 and the end of 2025, compared with growth of 26% across care and welfare and 18% for all employees.

The biggest increases came in residential shelters – including reception for homeless people and asylum seekers – and in broad welfare work, which covers services for older people and local community work.

The rise has been driven mainly by more people joining than leaving or retiring. Annual inflow climbed from 13,500 new workers at the end of 2020 to 20,900 in 2025, outpacing a smaller rise in the number leaving, from 14,600 to 16,300. The sector added 4,600 workers over the course of 2025.

Most newcomers came from outside care and welfare altogether – nearly 69% in the last quarter of 2025, chiefly from business services and trade – against an average of 56% across the wider sector. Many were people returning to work or switching careers.

Turnover remains relatively high. More than 24% of social work employees left their jobs, compared with almost 21% across care and welfare, and 64% of those who moved on left the sector entirely, the highest share of any care and welfare branch. Just 9.5% of departures were down to retirement, against 16.4% sector-wide.