Dutch independent contractors, known locally as zzp’ers, earned an estimated €62.5 billion last year, with just over a million independent contractors reporting an average annual turnover of €60,994.50.

As a result, zzp’ers contributed 10.2% to Dutch GDP, which amounted to €613 billion in 2014, according to research from ZZP Barometer in conjunction with Dutch staffing firm IT Staffing.

Zzp’ers on average earn €68.18 per hour and report an average annual profit of €36,960.74. They work an average of 894.6 hours each year, of which 48.9% are billable.

Male zzp’ers earn 9.7% more per hour than their female counterparts. In contrast, female zzp’ers work 26.3% fewer billable hours than men. Female zzp’ers expressed an interest in closing the gender pay gap, but said that had no desire to bridge the billable hours gap.

The more highly educated the zzp’er, the fewer billable hours they work. Consequently, zzp’ers with secondary education or training are the only group that would like to work fewer billable hours, compared with those with higher levels of education. University-educated zzp’ers can earn nearly twice as much as those with a secondary-level education.  

The Healthcare and ICT sectors are the most lucrative, in terms of profit, with zzp’ers retaining 68.7% and 65.7% of turnover as profit, respectively. In contrast, Construction and Technology sector workers retain 40.8% and 45%, respectively.

Zzp’ers working the most hours work in the Technology (1,369.3), Construction (1,121.3), and ICT (1,052) sectors. In contrast, those in Education (627.9) and Marketing/Communication (678.5) work the fewest.

The highest hourly rates are found in ICT/Internet (€77.05), Business Services (€75.39), and Education (€73.17). The lowest were reported in Construction (€48.09) and Engineering (€51.42).

To access the full report, click here. (Dutch only)