Mental ill-health poses a key labour market and social policy challenge. The total estimated costs of mental ill-health for society are large, reaching 3.3% of GDP in the Netherlands, and are mainly the result of indirect costs through lost employment and reduced performance and productivity rather than direct health care costs. Sickness absence among workers with mental health problems is a big problem in the Netherlands. The percentage of people with moderate or severe mental health problems who are absent from work is 30-50% higher in the Netherlands than in other OECD countries. People with mental health problems frequently end up on disability, unemployment or social assistance benefits, and their share has been rising over time. In 2012, 7.9% of the working-age population received a disability benefit, of which one-third on the grounds of mental ill-health. Among unemployment and social assistance beneficiaries, approximately 30% and 40% report mental disorders, respectively. Finally, people suffering from mental health problems are less likely to be found in employment and face an unemployment rate double the rate of their healthy peers. Nevertheless, the employment rate of people with mental ill-health is higher in the Netherlands than in many other OECD countries, in part because of the widespread use of part-time employment.