Dutch startups are the best job growth engine in the Netherlands; stayed strong during COVID-19

As a startup ecosystem, the Netherlands is growing rapidly and is a great place for startups. This was reiterated by NimbleFins’ recent study ranking the best European countries for startups in 2020. Now, the second edition of the Dutch startup employment study by Dealroom on Dutch startup jobs, in partnership with Techleap.nl and CBRE, reveals that startups are the number one job growth engine in the Netherlands. 

Startups account for over 109K jobs in the Netherlands

The study finds that startups created over 109,000 jobs for people in the Netherlands and 25,000 of those were created in the last three years. This represents an average of 8% annual growth in the number of jobs created by startups in the country, which is said to be faster than any individual sector.

Furthermore, even during the coronavirus pandemic, when most sectors shed people, startups showed the most resilience. According to the report, compared to any other sector, job openings were up by 4% YoYin Q2 2020. 

Startup jobs evenly spread across large, medium & small startups

Top unicorns and scaleups such as Adyen, Backbase, and others, hogged most of the limelight. The top-tier companies have an overall combined valuation of €143B, but they only provide 14% of jobs in the startup space. The next 50 companies have a valuation of €11.4B and offer 13% of jobs. However, when it comes to employment numbers, small startups account for 73 percent of jobs, even when their combined valuation is the lowest at €31.8B. 

The report mentions that about 57% of new startup jobs, in the past 3 years, were created by companies less than 5 years old. The numbers also indicate that while Amsterdam leads for startup employment, startup openings are spread evenly across the entire country, with 60% of jobs based outside Noord-Holland. Additionally, as one might expect, startups receiving strong funding exhibit high-growth returns in terms of job creation and venture-backed companies are touted to grow their team thrice as fast than their peers. 

A diversified tech ecosystem

The report also reveals some interesting facts about the Netherlands in terms of geographical tech sector distribution. It suggests in Gelderland, food-tech startups are thriving in Wageningen University’s vicinity, which is said to be one of the world’s leading Food Science research centres. Similarly, Rotterdam hosts one of Europe’s largest ports and is now home to energy, industrial tech and manufacturing startups in Zuid Holland. 

The Hague is known for fostering a budding legal sector and is home to impact, legal and security startups. Additionally, the home of Dutch semiconductors, Noord-Brabant, is centered around Brainport, Eindhoven. This information gives a better picture of the  Dutch provinces’ diverse tech ecosystem.

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