Some 6,000 Amsterdam unemployed helped from welfare to work

Amsterdam more than reached its goal on helping unemployed people in the city find work last year. In 2016 a total of 5,927 Amsterdam residents on welfare went back to work. The target was 4,200, the city announced in a press release, AT5 reports.

The city also guided more than 6,900 unemployed young people into training or work and another 4,500 long-term unemployed Amsterdam residents now volunteer or have meaningful daytime activities, according to the press release.

"You can see that our approach works", Social Affairs alderman Arjan Vliegenhart said in the press statement. The approach includes more customization. "A paid job is not a real possibility for everyone. But we won't just let these people go. In Amsterdam you can also be valuable and involved in other ways."

The city stands with its decision not to oblige unemployed people to contribute in order to get their welfare benefits. "In Amsterdam we show that it is not necessary at all to force people to do useless work for no salary", Vliegenhart said.