Slight increase in unemployment in May; Labor market still tight

Unemployment in the Netherlands increased slightly to 3.5 percent of the working population in May, Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reported Thursday. The Dutch labor market remains tight, with more open vacancies than unemployed persons to fill them.

Last month, 353,000 people between the ages of 15 and 75 were unemployed. That is about 10,000 more than in April. Despite last month’s increase, unemployment still decreased on average over the past three months by about 1,000 people per month.

The number of people with paid work increased by an average of 9,000 people per month in the months March to May, climbing to 9.7 million workers in May.

The benefits agency UWV paid out 151,000 unemployment benefits at the end of May. That is 5,400 less than in the previous month, a decrease of 3.5 percent. In May, 20,300 unemployment benefits were terminated, and 14,900 new benefits started. Compared to May 2022, the number of unemployment benefits is 8.4 percent lower.

In addition to the unemployed, another 3.2 million people in the Netherlands did not have paid work last month. They are not considered part of the working population because they aren’t actively looking for work or are not available to start working immediately.

“These are mainly people who are retired or unable to work due to illness or occupational disability,” CBS said. Over the past three months, this group has shrunk by an average of 6,000 people per month.