The Geography of the Labour Force Composition in the Netherlands: A Tribute to Tamsma’s ‘The Netherlands in Maps’

Abstract In 1961, Robert Tamsma started a new section in TESG titled ‘The Netherlands in Maps’. It ran for more than 50 years, spotlighting both cartography and the geography of the Netherlands for the journal’s readers. In this first Geographica contribution, I draw inspiration from one of Tamsma’s many visualizations: a ternary plot highlighting the heterogeneity of the labour force in Groningen. I present a modern reinterpretation that maps the labour‐force composition of Dutch neighbourhoods using a ternary colour scheme. The analysis uses detailed postcode‐level data, capturing where workers live rather than where jobs are located, and pairs a national map with a ternary plot that doubles as a legend. As in Tamsma’s original, the map highlights the continued heterogeneity of the labour force in the Netherlands despite a strong, and expected, concentration in the tertiary sector.