Growing up in a household on welfare linked to lower employment at 29

Statistics Netherlands found a link between childhood welfare and later work outcomes among people who were 29 in 2024.

The figures cover about 186,000 people who turned 18 in 2013, including those who grew up in the Netherlands with a parent or caregiver receiving social assistance.

Among those who spent at least five years in such a household, about 69% had a job at age 29.

One in five in that group received benefits, compared with 6% of those who did not grow up in a household receiving assistance.

The group without that childhood experience was also more likely to have a higher education qualification: 50% had a university or university of applied sciences degree, compared with about 20% of those who grew up partly on assistance.

A Maastricht University researcher said financial stress and its effects on health may make it harder for children to study, while the figures show an association and do not establish that childhood welfare alone caused these differences.