[Report] Dutch tech startup employment in the Netherlands – Techleap x Ravio

The startup ecosystem in the Netherlands is fast becoming a key pillar of the country’s economy.

For the past few years, the number of Dutch startups has been rapidly growing, across a variety of different sectors. Today, employment opportunities at these startups make up a major part of the Dutch labour market.

So what has startup employment in the Netherlands looked like this year?

That’s exactly what the ‘Dutch Tech Startup Employment 2023’ report, released today, explores.

The report has been produced by Techleap and Dealroom, and features data from Ravio on gender diversity in the workplace.

What’s included in the Dutch Tech Startup Employment 2023 report?

The report gives a full overview of the state of the Dutch startup ecosystem today – VC investment, job creation, hiring and recruitment, employee engagement and retention, gender diversity, and more.

Notable highlights include:

• Homegrown startups provide huge employment value in the Netherlands. In a difficult economic environment, the Netherlands tech sector continues to thrive, and is now responsible for 151,000 local jobs.
• Sales and engineering skills gaps. A notable hurdle for Netherlands tech startups is the demand for certain skills, particularly in sales and engineering. This is especially true when hiring locally, with 65% of companies struggling to find the talent they need locally.
• Employees are seeking inclusive employers. Company culture is becoming more and more important in attracting and retaining talent, with 76% of employees are now looking for a diverse and inclusive employer when looking for a new job. And with the gender pay gap in Netherlands tech still 23%, there’s a lot to be done on this.

For a preview of the Ravio insights on gender diversity included in the report, keep on reading this article.

Or head to Dealroom to download the full Dutch Tech Startup Employment Report for 2023.

Are startups in the Netherlands hiring in 2023?

It’s been a difficult couple of years for recruitment in the tech industry as a whole, with factors like global inflation and widespread layoffs having an impact on the tech workforce.

This is reflected in the hiring rate, especially in the Netherlands. Ravio’s data shows that hiring rates are down by almost 50% this year in Dutch startups – which compares to 37.5% across the whole of Europe.

The full report shares insights into the role of startups in job creation in the Dutch economy, as well as exploring which startup roles remain in demand and which are currently a lower priority.

Are start ups in the Netherlands retaining employees?

Startups in the Netherlands are also struggling with employee retention in 2023.

Ravio’s data shows that there has been a 42% increase in attrition rates this year in the Netherlands – compared to a 10% increase across Europe as a whole.

In the full employment report, Dealroom and Techleap interrogate the role of Dutch universities in attracting top talent and creating startups in the Netherlands.

Are startups in the Netherlands making progress on gender diversity and pay equity?

There’s no denying that the gender pay gap remains a big issue.

But, startups in the Netherlands are slightly ahead of those in other European countries in terms of closing the gender pay gap.

Whereas Europe as a whole has a gender pay gap of 26% (median, unadjusted), in the Netherlands the gender pay gap is 23%.

In the full employment report we interrogate further, looking at how the gender pay gap and the proportion of women changes across different job roles and seniorities.