The unemployment rate has risen at a rate of around 2,000 per month in the Netherlands over the past three months, new data from Statistics Netherlands (CBS) has found.
As of September 2024, there were 377,000 unemployed people in the Netherlands, with the unemployment rate standing at 3.7%.
The number of people in paid employment fell by an average of 13,000 per month over the past three months, CBS added, reaching 9.8 million in September.
In September, some 3.6 million people between the ages of 15 and 74 were not in paid employment, with 3.2 million of these not actively seeking employment or not immediately available for work.
Many of these are retirees and people who are unable to work due to sickness or incapacitation, and therefore are not counted as part of the labour force, CBS noted.
Unemployment benefits
The number of unemployment benefits increased by 1,600 in September to 172,300, marking a one percent rise. In that month, 20,200 new unemployment benefits were granted, while 18,600 were terminated.
The sectors experiencing the largest increase in unemployment benefits were government (4.9%) and education (4.6%), along with the food and beverage industry (2.2%). The usual rise in benefits in the education sector post-summer was smaller than in previous years due to staff shortages.
Long-term unemployment
In terms of long-term unemployment, in September, there were 232,000 individuals who had also been unemployed, or without a job, three months earlier.
In August, 239,000 people became unemployed, while 232,000 ceased to be unemployed, resulting in a slight increase of 7,000 unemployed persons over the past three months. Read more here.
Household consumption
Elsewhere, recent data from CBS showed that household consumption in the Netherlands increased by 0.7% in August 2024 compared to the same month in the previous year.
This growth reflects a rise in the purchase of both goods and services by Dutch households. The consumption figures are volume-based, meaning they have been adjusted to account for price changes, providing a clearer picture of real growth in consumer activity rather than inflation-driven figures.
