Record 340,000 people lost their jobs in the second quarter

Nearly 340 thousand people who had paid work in the first quarter of this year, had lost their job in the second quarter - a record, Statistics Netherlands said on Friday. The decrease was greatest among business and administrative professions, such as receptionists, service professions such as hotel and catering industry staff, and in transport and logistics, like taxi drivers.

Against the 340 thousand people who lost their job, there were also 208 thousand people who didn't have paid work in the first quarter but found a job in the second. On balance, the number of people in the Netherlands' paid work force therefore decreased by 132 thousand. This number usually increases in the second quarter, according to the stats office.

Of the people who lost their jobs in the second quarter, 211 thousand were untrained personnel. Especially in the transport sector, more jobs were lost by untrained workers than in the same quarter last year - 26 thousand this year, almost twice as many as last year. These were mainly taxi drivers, van drivers, truck drivers, and loaders and unloaders.

Slightly more men lost their jobs in the second quarter than women, 175 thousand men and 163 thousand women. The majority of people who lost their jobs in the transport sector were men, as men are the majority in these professions. The same holds true for technical professions. Women are overrepresented in care and welfare professions, and the majority of people who lost their jobs in these professions were also women.