Youth unemployment in Amsterdam continues to decline

Youth unemployment in Amsterdam is continuing its steady decline. Last year 6.8 percent of the young people in the Dutch capital not following a form of education, were unemployed. In 2015 it was 9.3 percent and in 2014 it was 13.3 percent, according to figures from Amsterdam's statistics agency OIS.

Unemployment among young people that are not studying is significantly lower in Amsterdam than in the other large Dutch cities. In Rotterdam 16 percent of this group is unemployed. In The Hague it's 18 percent.

Social Affairs alderman Arjan Vliegenthart attributes the low unemployment rate completely to Amsterdam's approach to dealing with it. "Our approach works. By going to look for young people at home if necessary, we manage to get them off the couch and on to work. That's incredibly important for their future." he said in a press statement. "Sometimes we need to call on someone two or three times, but we see that persistence pays off."

In Amsterdam unemployed young people are intensively guided to work or studies, with the help of job hunters and special youth advisors, among others.