KVK ZZP monitor: number of zzp'ers stabilises in February

The number of self-employed people remained virtually unchanged in February, after falling in December 2024 and January 2025. On 28 February, 1,770,355 self-employed persons were registered in the Business Register, 1,600 more than a month earlier, an increase of 0.1%. This is according to the KVK ZZP-monitor for February 2025.

The total number of zzp'ers stopping rose by 2,400 compared to a year ago, up 42%. The number of starters decreased by 4,400 (23%) compared to February 2024. This trend, a decrease in starters and an increase in stoppers, was also seen in previous months.

Fluctuations

The development in the number of self-employed people varies by sector. The biggest riser is the Professional Services sector with 800 zzp'ers, an increase of 0.2%. IT and Media saw the number of self-employed increase by over 500, a rise of 0.5%.

The decrease is - again - largest in Healthcare (700 self-employed, - 0.3%) and Construction (280 self-employed, - 0.1%), but significantly lower than in previous months.

Joris Knoben, professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at the Tilburg School of Economics and Management: "It is surprising that the number of self-employed people seems to be stabilising. The decline in healthcare and construction is less than you would expect given all the turmoil and uncertainty among major clients. In professional services, the largest sector in terms of self-employed workers, there is even growth again. A possible explanation is that the uncertainty means that self-employed people do not (yet) deregister from the Business Register in the hope of continuing to work as self-employed. In any case, based on all the reports from clients, I had expected a bigger drop."

Checks for false self-employment

Since the beginning of 2025, the Netherlands Tax Administration takes stricter action if it turns out that an employment relationship does not involve entrepreneurship, but rather wage employment and temporary work. Enforcement of this false self-employment may affect the number of self-employed professionals registered in the Business Register. The monitor is published in Dutch and comes out on the first day of the month.

This is what you get from the KVK ZZP monitor

1. Numbers of self-employed people

Every month, you can find the total number of self-employed professionals, the total number of starters, and the total number of stoppers. 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.

More information

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