Unemployment increased slightly in July to 3.6 percent

Unemployment in the Netherlands increased slightly in July compared to a month earlier. Despite the fact that the Dutch economy entered a recession last quarter, the labor market has also remained under pressure. The number of unemployment benefits paid out were virtually stable in July.

Last month, 3.6 percent of the working population was without paid work, Statistics Netherlands (CBS) said this week based on the latest figures. In June, the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 3.5 percent. Unemployment was fairly stable in the first half of the year, as was the number of unemployment benefits, the CBS said.

There were 362,000 people aged 15 to 75 who were unemployed in July, up from 353,000 in June. Statistics Netherlands measures the development of the number of unemployed as an average change over the past three months. In the months May to July, the number of unemployed rose by an average of 6,000 per month. The number of people in work rose by an average of 1,000 per month during the same period.

In July, 3.6 million people aged 15 to 75 were out of paid work for various reasons. In addition to the unemployed, there were 3.2 million people who have not recently looked for work and/or are not immediately available for work. They are not counted as part of the workforce. These are mainly people who are retired or unable to work due to illness or incapacity for work. In the months May to July, the number of people outside the working population fell by an average of 4,000 per month.

Unemployment has increased in the past three months, especially among young people aged 15 to 25. Unemployment among this group rose from 7.9 percent in April to 8.6 percent in July. The percentages are considerably lower among 25 to 45-year-olds and over-45s.

In July, the UWV issued 152,000 unemployment benefits. That is 600 less than in the previous month. In July, 20,200 benefits were terminated and 19,500 new benefits were added. Compared to July last year, the number of unemployment benefits is now 3 percent lower.