Dutch unemployment falls to 19-year low; Foreign firms bring 4,000 jobs to Amsterdam

Unemployment in the Netherlands fell to 3.6 percent in January, according to Statistics Netherlands (CBS). The national statistics bureau said it is the lowest level since 2003, the first year in which monthly figures became available. Between February and July 2020, the unemployment rate increased from 4 to 5.5 percent. Since then, it has since declined almost continuously.

Over the past three months, the number of unemployed persons has fallen by an average of 9,000 per month, down to 354,000 in January. That is about 3.6 percent of the labor force. The number of workers aged 15 to 75 years increased by an average of 26,000 per month to 9.4 million in the same period. The increase in the number of employed people was greatest among young people. At the end of January, the UWV benefits agency registered 193,000 workers currently receiving unemployment benefits.

In January, 3.8 million people aged 15 to 75 were out of paid work for a variety of reasons. In addition to the unemployed workers, there were 3.4 million people who had not recently sought a job, including those who are not immediately available for work. They are not counted as part of the working population. Their numbers have fallen by an average of 3,000 per month in the last three months.

Foreign companies bring 4,000 jobs to the Amsterdam region

International investments in Amsterdam and the surrounding area are almost back to pre-pandemic levels. Last year, 133 international companies opened a branch in the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area, of which 32 have head offices. This has created more than 4,000 new jobs, twice as many as in 2020, the first year of the corona crisis.

The companies mainly come from Europe, the Middle East and Africa, reports amsterdam inbusiness, a collaboration between the municipalities of Almere, Amstelveen, Haarlemmermeer and Amsterdam, and the Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency. Two years ago, 101 companies opened a branch, bringing 1,970 new jobs.

Most of the new companies are active in a handful of sectors, including IT & technology, financial and fintech, shipping and logistics, the creative industry, and life sciences and health. Examples include renewable energy company Anax Power, media company and streaming TV provider Roku, and the electric car companies Lucid Motors and Xpeng.

The expansion of 30 foreign companies that were already established in the Amsterdam region led to the creation of 2,500 new jobs. These are mainly companies from North America.

"The number of new jobs that Amsterdam and the region will get through the establishment of international companies is again at the 4,000 from before the coronavirus pandemic. And we know that every job at an international company provides about one extra job elsewhere in the region,” said Amsterdam Alderman Victor Everhardt, who handles economic affairs policy for the capital. “These strong numbers show that we are recovering our economic earning capacity after a major economic blow. We are doing well in many different sectors, such as fintech, media and life sciences and health, which makes our international competitive position strong,"

The companies more frequently settling in one of the surrounding municipalities of the Metropolitan Region, and not Amsterdam. This happened about 30 percent of the time in 2021, compared to 20 percent in 2019.