In 2019, the volume of labour deployed in the Dutch agricultural sector was equivalent to over 156 thousand full-time jobs (FTEs). Included were nearly 30 thousand full-time jobs of people working on the basis of fixed-term contracts, doing specific or occasional work. This is evident from the agricultural census conducted by Statistics Netherlands (CBS).
The majority of the non-regular labour force - often seasonal workers - were active in horticulture. Especially during planting and harvesting times, more temporary manpower is needed in this sector. The horticultural sector accounted for almost 26 thousand full-time jobs of non-regularly employed persons, nearly 87 percent of these types of jobs in agriculture.
Lots of seasonal work at greenhouse vegetable farms
Within the horticultural sector, the seasonal workforce was largest at greenhouse vegetable farms. This workforce was larger than the number of regularly employed workers. Nearly 60 percent of the labour input consisted of seasonal workers. These include students who help pick tomatoes, cucumbers or peppers, but also temporary migrant workers. No further information is available on this. Seasonal workers accounted for 19 percent of the work on all farms. Agricultural sectors where there is relatively little seasonal work are livestock farming and arable farming.
Relatively much seasonal work in Haarlem and Westland
In the areas around Haarlem and in the Westland region, a relatively large part of the agricultural activities were carried out by seasonal workers, namely 61 and 46 percent respectively. The Westland region is known for its greenhouses, where mainly vegetables, flowers and plants are grown. In the north of North Holland province, western North Brabant and large parts of South Holland as well, a relatively large number of seasonal workers were employed in agriculture; 30 to 40 percent of the workforce were not employed on a regular basis.
Source: Statistics Netherlands
