Newcomer participation in labour market up 20 percent in 2025

• Large numbers of Ukrainian refugees employed in 2024; further increase in 2025

• Asylum seekers and status holders also finding more jobs due to changed laws and regulations

• Growing labour potential of newcomers offers opportunities in tight labour market

Employers increasingly looking to newcomers

Newcomers — asylum seekers, status holders1 and Ukrainian refugees — are finding jobs more quickly and more often. Employers are increasingly looking to this group in their search for talent. ABN AMRO anticipates that the total number of refugees in employment will increase by 17,500 in 2025: from over 88,000 in 2024 to 105,000 newcomers in 2025, representing a 20 percent rise. Due to the extremely tight labour market, employers are more willing to give new talent a chance. "In May 2025, only 3.8 percent of the workforce was unemployed, and unemployment is expected to remain low, partly due to the ageing population. Nearly all sectors are experiencing staff shortages, which is putting pressure on business productivity," says Mario Bersem, Sector Economist Business Services at ABN AMRO. "This means there’s a strong demand for workers. Additionally, changes in laws and regulations have made it easier for newcomers to find work. This combination of factors brings into focus a substantial part of currently untapped labour potential, offering opportunities in many sectors and benefiting the Dutch economy."

Ukrainian newcomers active in the labour market

The situation of Ukrainian refugees in the Dutch labour market makes the importance of regulations especially clear. Ukrainians have free access to work under the European Directive on Temporary Protection. As a result, nearly 60 percent of Ukrainians aged 15 to 65 — over 55,000 individuals — were in jobs by the end of 2024. ABN AMRO expects this number to rise to 65,000 by the end of this year (+18 percent). The number of employed asylum seekers also shot up last year, by no less than 200 percent — from 2,500 in 2023 to over 8,000 in 2024, according to figures provided by employee insurance agency UWV to ABN AMRO. This number is expected to increase by another 25 percent in 2025. This is primarily due to the repeal of the ‘24-week requirement’, which stipulated that asylum seekers could not work for more than 24 weeks a year. A similar trend is visible among status holders — newcomers with a temporary residence permit. Their participation in the labour market is also growing year by year, partly due to the 2021 Integration Act, which promotes labour participation. In 2025, ABN AMRO expects 5,500 newcomers with refugee status to find employment, representing a 22 percent increase.

Employment agencies and HR service providers guide newcomers to work

Nevertheless, there is still a large amount of labour potential left untapped. ABN AMRO believes there are plenty of opportunities in this area for employers to find new talent. "The experience with Ukrainian refugees shows what is possible when you take away the barriers," says Mario Bersem. "We’re still not fully utilising the potential of asylum seekers and status holders. There’s an opportunity there for companies in sectors with serious staff shortages — such as hospitality, logistics, cleaning and healthcare — to fill vacancies. Employers can tap into a whole pool of talent if they invest in supporting newcomers, for example in collaboration with employment agencies and HR service providers. Not only can this help solve staff shortages, it also helps newcomers integrate."

ABN AMRO Reboot

ABN AMRO’s Reboot programme actively utilises the labour potential of status holders. Reboot connects status holders with managers at the bank and if there’s a good match, they are offered a paid position. Since the start of the programme, 126 people have been placed through Reboot, and 75% of them are still employed by the bank. "Many employers are put off by the gap in their CV, but that’s not an issue at Reboot. We understand that this group of employees have had their career interrupted through no fault of their own. It doesn’t detract from their talents and employability," says Nicole Böttger, Head of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at ABN AMRO. With specific coaching and training, the bank offers newcomers structural opportunities to continue their careers at an appropriate level.

1 Asylum seekers are people who are still waiting for a decision on the granting of a residence permit; status holders are newcomers who have a temporary residence permit