KVK ZZP monitor: slight increase in number of zzp'ers in August

  • 13 January 2025
  • Edited 1 September 2025
  • 1 min

The number of self-employed professionals in the Netherlands is constantly changing. With the monthly KVK ZZP monitor, you can closely follow the development of self-employed people in the Netherlands.

Last month, more zzp'ers ended their business activities and fewer started. This is according to the KVK ZZP monitor for August 2025. This trend was also visible in recent months. The number of zzp'ers stopping rose by some 1,000 compared to August 2024, an increase of 13%. The number of starters fell by about 2,500 (-16%) compared to a year ago.

The total number of zzp'ers grew very slightly in August (+0.2%). On 31 August, 1,784,720 self-employed persons were registered in the Business Register, slightly more than 3,000 than a month earlier.

In the Agriculture and horticulture and Energy, water and environment sectors, there is a slight decrease in the number of zzp'ers.

False self-employment checks

As of this year, the Netherlands Tax Administration checks more stringently for false self-employment, where a zzp'er is in effect an employee for whom the employer does not pay employee contributions. The extra checks may have an effect on the number of zzp'ers registered in the Business Register.

About the file

The monthly KVK ZZP Monitor is a pdf file. It is only available in Dutch and appears on the first day of the next month. 

Download the KVK ZZP monitor

This is what you get from the KVK ZZP monitor

1. Numbers of zzp'ers

Every month, you can find the total number of self-employed professionals, the total number of starters, and the total number of quitters. You can immediately see whether the number is higher or lower than in the same month a year earlier.

2. Self-employed trends over several years

The monitor also shows the development of self-employed professionals over the past few years in a single graph. At a glance, you can see the development compared to the same month a year earlier.

3. Sectors with the sharpest decline

The monitor shows the 5 sectors where the decrease in the number of self-employed persons was the strongest. An Excel file is available with detailed figures on the 100 sectors with the most self-employed professionals.

4. Notable data

What else stands out? You can read about the most important developments of the past month in the KVK ZZP monitor.

Previous editions of the KVK Zzp Monitor (in Dutch)

More information

More up-to-date figures and trends and reliable insights on Dutch business can be found at KVK Figures and Trends.Â