Since the suspension of the enforcement moratorium on pseudo-self-employment, the number of self-employed individuals in the Netherlands has decreased by approximately 80,000. That is nearly 8% of the total number of self-employed professionals. There is no mass shift yet, but for clients, this is a clear signal to carefully examine their flexible workforce.
Fewer self-employed individuals, but not uniform across the board
The decline is not uniform. Self-employed individuals with medium-level education show the greatest decrease: their numbers dropped by 11.4% compared to a year earlier. Highly educated self-employed individuals show a limited decline of just 4%. For you as a client, this means that highly educated professionals remain available for now, while roles at the MBO (intermediate vocational education) level are more susceptible to fluctuations in supply and rates.
The difference is partly due to the risk of bogus self-employment. Middle-skilled jobs often have lower rates and a greater chance that a self-employed person will be considered bogus self-employed. Highly skilled workers are better protected because their rates are higher and their self-employed status is often more clearly visible.
The behaviour of self-employed individuals changes
While the number of self-employed individuals is decreasing, their activity is increasing. Almost one in four self-employed individuals is actively seeking a new assignment. This is a slight increase compared to previous quarters and may indicate growing uncertainty. We saw a similar pattern during the coronavirus pandemic: uncertainty leads to more activity in the labour market.
In addition, the allure of self-employment remains strong. About 12% of self-employed individuals consider returning to salaried employment, while 12.6% of employees express a desire to become self-employed. In absolute numbers, this means that approximately 1 million people in employment have self-employed ambitions, compared to around 120,000 self-employed individuals who wish to return to salaried employment. This means that autonomy still plays a significant role in recruitment and retention. Keep this in mind in your recruitment process and offer flexibility and freedom of choice to attract and retain talent.
From Employee to Self-Employment and Back
The flows between self-employment and employment show interesting patterns. After the enforcement on false self-employment, the percentage of self-employed returning to employment increased. In the first quarter of 2025, this almost doubled, from 2.3 to 4.4%. In the following quarters, this decreased again. Nonetheless, the outflow towards employment remains greater than the inflow towards self-employment.
Pressure on Secondment
Shifts are also seen in the secondment market. The percentage of professionals temporarily 'on the bench' is increasing and the plateau of vacancy is rising: from 4.6% in the third quarter of 2023, to 5.3% in 2024, to 6.1% in 2025. This means that temporary deployment is not always directly available.
This can partly be explained by how secondment is used nowadays. Whereas it was previously mainly used to compensate for scarcity, it is now more utilised for specific expertise in projects.
What does this mean for 2026?
For the time being, the decline of self-employed seems to continue, but there are also signs of recovery in 2026. The Chamber of Commerce saw an increase in new registrations in December 2025. This could mean that the market is recovering, but also that enforcement continues to influence the inflow towards self-employment.
For you, this means: keep an eye on market movements, monitor supply and rate developments, and think ahead. In doing so, you will be able to effectively manage capacity, costs, and the continuity of projects.
Do you want to know exactly what the trends around false self-employment, inflow, and outflow looked like in 2025 and what the expectations for 2026 are? Download the latest Talent Monitor and gain direct insight into all figures, graphs, and analyses regarding rate developments.
