Unemployment rate in the Netherlands remains unchanged for fourth month in a row

The unemployment rate in the Netherlands remained unchanged in July compared to June, Statistics Netherlands has reported. Last month, 3.8 percent of the population did not have employment, which is the same as it was in June, May, and April. On average, the number of unemployed over the past three months also remained virtually unchanged.

A total of 388,000 people were unemployed in July. In addition, 3.2 million people had not recently looked for work or were not immediately available to do so. These are mainly people who are retired or unable to work due to illness or disability. They are not counted as part of the labor force.

The number of people outside the labor force decreased by an average of 5,000 per month over the past three months. The number of people in paid employment increased by an average of 5,000 per month during the same period.

At the end of July, the benefits agency UWV recorded 187,700 ongoing unemployment (WW) benefits, 4,100 more than the previous month. In July, 28,800 benefits were granted, while 24,700 were terminated.

The number of WW benefits increased in 16 sectors, with the largest rise seen in education, followed by healthcare and social work, the chemical industry, other industries, and banking and insurance.