Access to a vast talented labour pool

Available top talent

People like to live and work in Amsterdam. The city is home to a productive regional workforce from 178 different countries, with the largest share of people having a higher education (44%). Amsterdam has the country’s highest density of knowledge workers and an increasing inflow of workers from other EU countries - facilitated by the Expatcenter.

Eighty percent of the workforce speaks English, making Amsterdam the largest anglophone city in continental Europe. Ninety percent of the workforce speaks two or more languages.

According to the World Talent Index the Netherlands ranks fourth in the world for attracting and developing talent, surpassing every other country on the European continent.

Flexible labour force

The Amsterdam area is one of the most flexible labour markets in Europe where part time and temporary work is very common. In addition, improved hiring and firing regulations allow companies to scale up and down quickly as required. For expats, whose specific expertise is scarce in the current Dutch labour market, 30% of the employee’s salary is subject to a tax-free reimbursement.

Competitive labour costs

Compared to several other urban regions in Western Europe, the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area is able to offer relatively low employer labour cost. The area not only has the lowest social contribution (12,5%) paid by the employer, but it also offers the most attractive labour costs and performance incentives in comparison to the UK, Belgium and Germany (according to a competitiveness benchmark for head office activities, done by Ernst & Young International Location Advisory Services).