Biggest increase in entrepreneurs & freelancers calling it quits in 10 years
In the first quarter of this year, the Chamber of Commerce (KVK) recorded the strongest increase in the number of entrepreneurs and freelancers closing down their businesses in ten years. The number of startups also decreased, slowing the growth in the number of businesses in the Netherlands. The KVK linked these developments to stricter rules for self-employment, among other things.
In the first quarter, 60,964 businesses closed down, an increase of 37 percent compared to a year earlier. Almost three-quarters (73%) of those who called it quits were self-employed or freelancers, but many small- and medium-sized businesses also permanently closed their doors. These involve mostly healthy businesses. The number of bankruptcies fell for the first time in 2.5 years, from 1,003 in Q1 2024 to 892 this past quarter.
The KVK noted that the number of closing businesses increased in all sectors, calling that an “exceptional” development. The increase was strongest in the sectors agriculture and horticulture (90%), health (72%), and construction (50%).
“Entrepreneurs from various sectors are faced with, for example, high energy costs, uncertainty about (new) regulations, and persistent tightness on the labor market,” Josette Dijkhuizen, an entrepreneur and a special professor at Tilburg University, explained the increase in businesses closing. “If entrepreneurs quit while they basically have a healthy company, but are now no longer able to do business due to external circumstances, this is a negative development.”
The number of new businesses starting up also saw the biggest decline in ten years. In the first quarter, 60,448 new businesses registered with the KVK, 17 percent less than a year earlier. The KVK called it striking that the number of startups opting for the legal form of a Private Limited Company increased by a quarter. “This may be related to the enforcement of fake self-employment rules and the upcoming mandatory disability insurance for self-employed persons,” the KVK said.
The number of startups decreased most in the sectors of health, agriculture and horticulture, and logistics. Dijkhuizen attributes the decrease in health and logistics to the stricter rules for freelancers and self-employed. “For the agriculture and horticulture sector, we mainly see a large decrease in starters in the service sector (for arable and/or horticulture and breeding and keeping animals). The general tenor is that this sector is facing an unclear future with an expected significant reduction in the livestock population, which is not attractive for starters,” Dijkhuizen said.
On March 31, 2025, the Netherlands counted 2,578,878 businesses registered with the KVK. That is still an increase of 1.4 percent compared to the first quarter of 2024, but it is the lowest growth figure in a decade, the KVK said.
