This report analyses 60 policies aimed at improving the position on the Dutch labour market of people with a migration background, and thus at narrowing the employment gap between these people and those without a migration background. It looks at policies that specifically promote the labour market integration of newcomers in the Netherlands, more general policies involving changes in taxation, allowances, and social security, active labour market policies, and policies designed for companies and other organisations.

The report also includes two case studies. The first comprises an analysis of the impact of the introduction of the Civic Integration Act 2013, and the second analyses the impact of the Participation Act in 2015 on the job-seeking environment of claimants of social assistance benefits, both those with and those without a migration background.

According to Statistics Netherlands, the share of Dutch residents with a migrant background (including third-country nationals - TCNs - with a resident permit) is growing. 4 564 248 people with a migration background currently live in the Netherlands, representing 25.8% of the Dutch population. Of the total population 8.2% are first-generation TCNs, amounting to almost 1.5 million Dutch residents. The extent to which these residents have equal opportunities at work is often an important topic of discussion - for politicians, policy makers, NGOs, and the residents themselves - given that the labour market participation rate of people with a migration background in the Netherlands is significantly lower, on average, than that of people without a migration background.

The report also notes that the labour market participation rate of the largest TCN migrant groups (those from Turkey, Morocco, Suriname or the Antilles, for example) and refugees is relatively low, while the rate of those from an Eastern European or Asian migration background much more closely resembles that of people with no migration background. The proportion of women with a migration background who work or are looking for work is also low, especially among those with a Turkish or Moroccan background or who arrived in the Netherlands as refugees.