77K tech jobs make up 14% of Amsterdam’s workforce 

Now in its third year the Amsterdam startup jobs report in partnership StartupAmsterdam, shows that tech companies are responsible for 14% of all jobs in the city. With 11K new jobs added between December 2016 and December 2019, tech companies are creating more jobs than any other sector, though 30% of jobs are in sectors likely to be impacted by Covid-19.

Tech is a major employer in Amsterdam

Tech jobs make up 14% of overall employment in Amsterdam, with the majority of these provided by home-grown tech companies. Dutch-founded tech companies represent 43K Amsterdam jobs, while foreign tech companies (including Netflix, Tesla and Amazon) add another 34K.

Smaller startups employ the bulk of tech workers

It’s not just about the big name tech companies in Amsterdam. The top 10 employers (like Booking.com, TomTom, Adyen or Takeaway.com) might represent 85% of market value but provide only 26% of jobs. The other 74% are employed by over 2,000 startups and scaleups across the city. These home-grown tech employers are still largely in their infancy, with 18K Amsterdam workers employed at startups less than 7 years old.

While Covid-19 undoubtedly presents challenges for all sectors, it’s important to recognise and consolidate the tech sector’s position as significant employers in Amsterdam.

Tech companies fuel job growth

Since December 2016, home-grown tech companies have created 11K new jobs, with foreign tech companies adding another 7K. That is more than any other individual sector, such as advisory & research, retail, finance or healthcare. In 2019 alone, the number of employees at home-grown tech companies grew by 4.2K (or 11%).

Fintech and SaaS companies have been the top contributors of new jobs since 2016, but foodtech is clearly a growing sub-sector in Amsterdam, with the biggest annual growth since 2016; even accelerating between Dec 2018 and Dec 2019 (36% annual growth).

Impact of Covid-19

Covid-19 has impacted every sector, in distinct ways. Some areas such as groceries and healthtech have seen an unprecedented acceleration of digital adoption, while sectors such as travel, event tech and recruitment, are seeing understandable contraction. Early analysis indicates that roughly 30% of startup jobs and 24% of startups operate in areas most likely to suffer a prolonged impact of Covid-19.

While for some companies the biggest challenge will be managing growth, for others the key will be extending runway in order to navigate the crisis. As an important job creation engine, as shown over the last five years, the tech sector will no doubt be crucial to economic recovery, as well as contributing to solving some of the world’s biggest problems.