Youth unemployment reaches four-year high as overall joblessness stabilizes

Unemployment remained unchanged in November for the third consecutive month, Statistics Netherlands has reported. The share of the workforce without employment stayed at four percent, unchanged from September and October, marking a four-year high.

Over the past three months, both employment and unemployment grew by an average of 2,000 per month. The rise in unemployment is primarily seen among young people: in November, 9.1 percent of 15- to 25-year-olds in the labor force were without work, the highest level in over four years.

In the last four years, the unemployment rate for young people ranged from 6.9 to 9.0 percent. Although youth unemployment has increased in the past three months, Statistics Netherlands reports that labor force participation among young people dropped to 75.2 percent, down from 76.4 percent in August.

Besides the 408,000 unemployed, November saw 3.2 million people who either had not recently searched for a job or were not immediately available to work. Most of these individuals are retirees or are unable to work due to illness or disability, and thus are not included in the labor force. Over the past three months, their numbers grew by an average of 7,000 per month.

The benefits agency UWV reported 194,100 unemployment benefits at the end of November, 1,300 fewer than at the end of October. Compared with last year, the total number of WW benefits rose by 9.9 percent, with the largest increases among those over 55 (up 11.6 percent) and young people under 25 (up 11.3 percent).