The majority of foreign employees from the EU working in the Netherlands are from Poland, despite being among the lowest paid foreign employees, according to data from Statistics Netherlands.

The data looked at jobs in 2017 and found that more than 838,000 jobs in the Netherlands were filled by foreign employees. Nearly half, or 414,000 of the foreign employees came from the EU. Approximately 180,000 of these jobs were filled by employees of Polish origin.

The jobs with the lowest hourly wages are mainly filled by employees from Central and Eastern European countries. More than 70% to 80% of employees born in Romania, Poland, Bulgaria and Hungary have a job with an hourly wage below €15. Employees from countries that have been part of the EU for some time, such as Greece, Spain, Italy and Portugal, earn more than €15.

Statistics Netherlands also found that a large proportion of foreign employees have a job in the business services sector.

“Temporary employment agencies are the most important employers in this (business services) sector,” Statistics Netherlands stated.

It added that employees who come from Central and Eastern European countries in particular use temporary employment agencies.

Statistics Netherlands also found that a relatively large number of employees from Poland, Romania and Bulgaria work in agriculture.

Employees from countries that have long been part of the EU are often employed in non-commercial services which include government, education and healthcare.