Amsterdam leading Dutch cities in falling unemployment

Amsterdam is leading the way for the decreasing unemployment in the Netherlands' four largest cities, though Utrecht has the lowest unemployment rate, according to figures released by Statistics Netherlands on Tuesday. All four cities saw a drop in unemployment last year. In Amsterdam the unemployment rate fell from 8.9 percent in 2013 to 8.5 percent in 2014 to 7.7 percent last year. Utrecht had the lowest unemployment rate with 7.3 percent. Rotterdam had the highest unemployment rate with 12.0 percent, followed by The Hague with 10.0 percent. The relatively large differences in the cities' unemployment can partly be attributed to differences in their population composition and employment opportunities. For example, the unemployment rate among 15 to 74 year olds was 6.9 percent last year, among non-western minorities it was more than 15 percent. Last year Rotterdam had the most non-western minority inhabitants, with 37 percent of its population. At 32 percent, the proportion of low-skilled inhabitants was also highest in Rotterdam, compared to the other three cities. People with a lower education level are relatively more often unemployed. 29 percent of Rotterdam inhabitants were highly educated last year. The city of Utrecht boasted with the highest percentage highly educated inhabitants and the lowest percentage low-skilled inhabitants of the four cities. Last year 51 percent of Utrecht inhabitants were highly education. For the Netherlands as a whole, 29 percent are highly educated. The net labor market participatio was also highest in Utrecht. In 2015, 70 out of every 100 people between the ages of 15 and 75 years living in the city had paid work. In Amsterdam that was 66 out of every 100, 60 in The Hague and 58 in Rotterdam.