Work becomes more common after housing
Employment rises from about 24% at month 3 after housing to 50% at month 33. Benefit receipt falls from about 54% to 43%. Employment data ends in 2024; the benefit chart’s guidance states 2025. These figures describe changing groups of inburgeraars (people in civic integration). If you are integrating after settling in a municipality, use the tables to compare work and benefits across routes.
Data periods and limits
The CBS work and income dashboard (External site, opens in a new tab) covers people under Wet inburgering 2021 (Civic Integration Act 2021). The employment-over-time series includes self-employed people and ends in 2024. Income and self-employment records also end in 2024. Employee-only work and job-condition records run through December 2025; those figures are preliminary.
The benefit chart’s own guidance dates its records through 2025. CBS’s general notes also give a 2024 cut-off, so we follow the chart-specific guidance here. The household-income and main-income-source tables cover the 2022 cohort: people notified of their integration obligation in 2022. Those tables use data through 2024.
People, measures and learning routes
The housing-based figures cover people settled in a gemeente (municipality). CBS calls this huisvesting (housing). Measurements follow at three-month intervals, from month 3 to month 33 in our tables. The figures include asylum migrants and family and other migrants. People who completed integration remain included; people exempted or granted a waiver are excluded from these housing-based charts.
For people already living in a municipality when notified of their integration obligation, the measurements start at notification. For asylum migrants still in reception at that point, they start when the person settles in the municipality.
The employment-over-time chart includes loondienst (employment) and work as a zelfstandige (self-employed person). Other work charts count employees only. Self-employment records end in 2024.
An uitkering (social-security benefit) here includes social assistance, unemployment and disability benefits. Bijstand (social assistance) is the main benefit type; people may work and receive a benefit at the same time.
CBS compares people by leerroute (learning route). The B1-route (B1 learning route) combines Dutch with paid or voluntary work. The Onderwijsroute (education route) prepares people for further study. The Z-route (self-reliance route) serves people for whom the other two routes are too difficult. Rijksoverheid (Dutch government): learning routes (External site, opens in a new tab) describes these purposes. For language results across the routes, see Dutch language levels reached during inburgering (civic integration).
The groups on each route differ. A higher employment share on one route does not show that the route caused the difference. For the wider population, see who the new inburgeraars are.
Employment after housing
The table compares paid work across all routes, the B1-route and the Z-route. The share in work rises at each listed point. The chart covers employee and self-employed work through 2024.
You can scroll wide tables sideways.
| Months after housing | All routes | B1-route | Z-route |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 months | ~24% | ~29% | ~8% |
| 12 months | ~31% | ~38% | ~11% |
| 24 months | ~37% | ~43% | ~16% |
| 33 months | ~50% | ~56% | ~26% |
The share in paid work roughly doubles between month 3 and month 33. The measurements compare changing groups, rather than following exactly the same people at every point. The B1-route and Z-route differ by about 21 percentage points at month 3 and 30 points at month 33. For example, 56% compared with 26% means a gap of 30 percentage points.
About 1% work only as a self-employed person at month 3, rising to about 6% at month 33. A further 1% combine employee and self-employed work at month 33. This series ends in 2024.
Benefit receipt after housing
The share receiving a benefit falls between month 3 and month 33 on each route shown. The chart’s own guidance states that its data runs through 2025.
You can scroll wide tables sideways.
| Route | Benefit at month 3 | Benefit at month 33 | Change (points) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All routes | ~54% | ~43% | about −11 |
| B1-route | ~44% | ~34% | about −10 |
| Z-route | ~85% | ~76% | about −9 |
| Onderwijsroute | ~79% | ~37% | about −42 |
The largest difference between month 3 and month 33 is on the Onderwijsroute: about 42 percentage points. The Z-route differs by about 9 points. These measurements compare changing groups. They do not explain the differences in benefit receipt.
Main income source for the 2022 cohort
CBS uses voornaamste inkomensbron (main income source) to classify each person’s income. It also considers whether the person is in education. This table covers the 2022 cohort through 2024.
You can scroll wide tables sideways.
| Main income source | At month 3 | At month 33 | Change from month 3 to month 33 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work | ~15% | ~47% | Up ~32 percentage points |
| Benefit or pension | ~66% | ~26% | Down ~40 percentage points |
| In education | ~4% | ~6% | Up ~2 percentage points |
| No income | ~15% | ~21% | Up ~6 percentage points |
At month 3, about two-thirds mainly received a benefit or pension. At month 33, work was the main income source for about 47%, compared with 26% for benefits or pensions. These measurements compare changing groups, rather than following exactly the same people at every point. Later cohorts have had less time since housing.
The “no income” category concerns the person’s own income; someone else in the household may support them.
Household income for the 2022 cohort
CBS reports gestandaardiseerd besteedbaar huishoudinkomen (standardised disposable household income). It adjusts income for household size and composition so households can be compared. This table covers the 2022 cohort through 2024.
You can scroll wide tables sideways.
| Reporting year | Average annual income |
|---|---|
| 2022 | about €18,800 |
| 2023 | about €20,500 |
| 2024 | about €24,400 |
The average rose by about €5,600 between 2022 and 2024. The CBS definition of standardised income (External site, opens in a new tab) explains the adjustment. The figure is an adjusted household measure, rather than your salary or the amount paid into your bank account.
CBS uses the household recorded on 31 December before each reporting year. The income covers the whole reporting year, even if the person lived in the municipality for only part of it. Income may be unknown for someone absent from the BRP (Basisregistratie Personen, Personal Records Database) at the start of that year.
Job types, contracts and pay
The table describes people’s main employee jobs three months after housing. It covers all learning routes and uses data through December 2025. Self-employed work is excluded.
You can scroll wide tables sideways.
| Measure | Breakdown |
|---|---|
| Hours | deeltijd (part-time): about 66%; voltijd (full-time): about 34% |
| Contract | bepaalde tijd (fixed-term): about 89%; onbepaalde tijd (permanent): about 10% |
| Job type | Regular employee: about 50%; oproepkracht (on-call worker): 33%; uitzendkracht (agency worker): 16% |
| Largest sectors | Hospitality: about 25%; temp agencies and staffing: 19%; retail: 15% |
| Hourly pay | Mean: about €17; about 26% earn under €14 |
The hourly wage is basic pay in the main employee job, including internships. CBS excludes bonuses, allowances and overtime pay from this measure. It also excludes €0 hourly wages and wages above €500 per hour.
About a third have a deeltijdfactor (part-time factor) below 0.5. The factor compares a job’s hours with usual full-time hours. CBS averages the factors when someone has several jobs.
At month 3, about 76% of workers had had one job since notification of their integration obligation. About 19% had had two different jobs during that period. The count covers jobs over time, rather than jobs held at once.
The job-type and sector figures measure different things. An agency worker is a type of worker; the staffing sector describes the employer’s industry. For questions about a job offer, see temp agency work: contracts, pay and housing.
Work during 2025 by integration status
About 43% of the study population had an employee job at some point in 2025. Self-employed work is excluded. CBS sets no minimum number of hours. This measure covers a whole calendar year, rather than one month after housing. The shares below use integration status at the end of 2025.
- All integration statuses: about 43% worked during 2025.
- Lopend (active obligation): about 40% worked.
- Voldaan (obligation met): about 60% worked.
- Tijdelijke vrijstelling (temporary exemption): about 84% worked.
- Vrijstelling: about 86% worked.
The work-by-status figures show a link between integration status and work. They do not show that completing integration caused the difference. They also do not measure a person’s effort or ability.
Sources and calculation method
The Statistiek Wet inburgering (SWI, Integration Act Statistics) dashboard (External site, opens in a new tab) combines records from DUO (Dienst Uitvoering Onderwijs, the Dutch education service), municipalities and other registers. Its study population includes people who became obliged to integrate under the 2021 law, including people later exempted or granted a waiver.
The housing-based charts exclude people exempted or granted a waiver at the relevant data cut-off. The 2025 work-by-status chart includes them. That chart excludes people who had left the Netherlands by the end of 2025 and whose obligation had ended.
Each later measurement includes only people followed for that long. For example, a person housed in June 2024 can appear at month 6 in the income chart, but not at month 27. CBS warns that later measurements include relatively more family and other migrants, and a more selected group of asylum migrants. The chart therefore compares changing groups, rather than following exactly the same people at every point.
The 2021 law took effect on 1 January 2022. These tables show the first 33 months after housing for the early cohorts. Different chart definitions and data periods can produce different totals. Inburgering.org summarises the CBS data; the figures describe groups rather than personal outcomes.
Chart downloads
The calculations use the dashboard’s chart downloads. The chart names below identify the data used:
- “Ontwikkeling in de tijd arbeidsparticipatie na huisvesting in de gemeente” (employment over time after housing in a municipality).
- “Ontwikkeling in de tijd uitkering na huisvesting in de gemeente” (benefit receipt over time after housing in a municipality).
- “Voornaamste inkomen na start huisvesting in de gemeente” (main income source after housing in a municipality).
- “Gemiddeld gestandaardiseerd besteedbaar huishoudinkomen” (mean standardised disposable household income).
- “Personen gehuisvest in een gemeente” (people housed in a municipality): charts by hours, sector, hourly wage, job type, contract type, part-time factor and number of jobs.
- “Arbeidsparticipatie van personen na huisvesting in een gemeente” (employment after housing in a municipality).
- “Aandeel inburgeringsplichtigen dat heeft gewerkt in 2025” (share of people with an integration obligation who worked during 2025).
Using the figures for your situation
Use the employment and benefit tables to compare learning routes. Employment data ends in 2024; the benefit chart’s guidance states 2025. The two tables therefore cover different observation periods and apply their population rules at different cut-offs. Comparing them does not show how the same people moved from benefits to work.
If you are considering a job, check its hours and contract rather than treating these averages as a promise of pay. Use actual job offers to compare pay and hours in your local labour market.
The household-income average covers the whole household and is adjusted for its size and composition.
If you need help finding work, use finding a job without fluent Dutch. If you need help understanding benefit eligibility, use bijstand in the Netherlands. The percentage receiving a benefit does not decide whether you qualify.
- Author
- By Inburgering.org team
- Reviewer
- Reviewed by Kirill Svavolia
Official Sources
- CBS Statistiek Wet inburgering dashboard (External site, opens in a new tab) - Work and income data under Wet inburgering 2021 (Civic Integration Act 2021), with chart downloads. The employment-over-time series, income and self-employment end in 2024. Job data and the benefit chart’s own guidance cover 2025 (preliminary). General benefit notes give a conflicting cut-off. Income tables here use the 2022 cohort.
- CBS: gestandaardiseerd inkomen (standardised income) (External site, opens in a new tab) - CBS definition of standardised disposable household income: disposable household income adjusted for household size and composition so households of different sizes can be compared.
- Rijksoverheid: Wet inburgering 2021 (External site, opens in a new tab) - The law applies to people whose integration obligation starts from 1 January 2022. Describes the three learning routes, municipal support and the personal integration plan.