Skip to main content
Home

Main navigation

  • Top stories
  • Health
  • Crime
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Tech
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Weird
  • 1-1-2
Image
Waiting for a job interview
Waiting for a job interview - Credit: Photo: AllaSerebrina/DepositPhotos
Business
Coronavirus
unemployment
Statistics Netherlands
paid job
unemployment benefit
UWV
Wednesday, 20 May 2020 - 07:34
Share this:
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • linkedin
  • whatsapp
  • reddit

Unemployment rising faster than in financial crisis

The number of Netherlands residents with paid work fell by 160 thousand to 8.9 million in April, Statistics Netherlands announced on Wednesday. Unemployment increased from 2.9 percent in March to 3.4 percent last month. Young people were most affected.

Both the decrease in working Dutch and the increase in unemployment were the biggest since the stats office started keeping track of monthly figures in 2003. This shows that unemployment is increasing faster in the coronavirus crisis than it did in the financial crisis that hit the world in 2008.

Last month 314 thousand people in the Netherlands were unemployed, 41 thousand more than in March. 25 thousand of the increase were young people. The rest of the people who lost their jobs in April are not considered unemployed, because they were not actively looking for work or were not available to start immediately. The non-working population increased by 124 thousand over the past month.

Benefits agency UWV saw the number of active unemployment benefits increase by 42 thousand to 292 thousand in April. That is 16.7 percent more than in March and 13.5 percent more than in April 2019. The benefits agency issued a massive 74 thousand new unemployment benefits in April, compared to 38 thousand new benefits in March.

The number of new unemployment benefits increased in all sectors, but most in the cleaning sector, temporary employment agencies, retail, culture and catering. The new benefits also increased in all age groups, but most among young people aged 15 to 25 years. The average number of new unemployment benefits per week in this age group was 75 percent higher in April than in March.

This may have to do with the fact that many young people have temp or flexible jobs - which tend to be the first jobs cut when a company hits rough waters.

Follow us:

Latest stories

  • Teens could get 20 months for shooting 17-year-old in face with sawed-off shotgun
  • Dutch meteorologists say Musk's Starlink network disrupts weather forecasting
  • Money woes mean solar car firm Lightyear’s 600 workers expected to lose jobs
  • Court bans climate activist from attending protest on Hague highway
  • Sharp increase in drugs seized in the post last year
  • Dutch Grand Prix received €1.8 million in Covid support despite no-subsidy claims

Top stories

  • Philips to slash over a thousand jobs in new reorganization: Report
  • Netherlands heading for "socially disruptive" asylum crisis, involved authorities warn
  • Climate activists released from custody; Banned from Hague highway for months
  • Alfred Schreuder fired as Ajax manager
  • English language books driving increase in Dutch sales; Audiobooks more popular
  • Housing construction will miss 2023 target by 30 percent

© 2012-2023, NL Times, All rights reserved.

Footer menu

  • Privacy
  • Contact
  • Partner content