Dutch unemployment rate rises as business bankruptcy concerns continue to grow
The number of unemployed people in the Netherlands rose slightly in September to 377,000, Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reported. Unemployment has grown by around 2,000 people every month for the last three months, according to CBS. This comes after a report by insurance company Allianz Trade, which said that the Netherlands will continue to be one of the worst-scoring countries in the eurozone when it comes to bankruptcies over the next few years.
Unemployment rose slightly to 3.7 percent in August, and it stayed at this number for September. The number of unemployment benefits rose slightly last month.
Over 3.6 million people from the ages of 15 to 75 did not have a job in September. In addition to the 377,000 unemployed people, this consisted of 3.2 million people who had searched for work not too long ago or were not available to do so. They are not counted among the working population.
These are mainly people who are retired or cannot work due to an illness or handicap. Over the last three months, this group that is not qualified to work grew by an average of 15,000 a month, according to CBS.
The benefits agency UWV provided 172,300 unemployment benefits in September. This is an increase of one percent compared to August. Around 20,200 new benefits were added in September, and 18,600 unemployment benefits were terminated.
Most benefits increases could be seen in the government, education, and food and beverage sectors. It is customary that there is an increase in benefits in the education sector after the summer because more year contracts end.
CBS reported that the traditional increase is less significant than in previous years. This has to do with staff shortages in the education sector.
Allianz Trade reported on Tuesday that the Netherlands will continue to score worst among the Eurozone countries in terms of bankruptcies in the coming years. The credit insurer has revised the percentage of bankruptcies upwards for this year from 31 percent to 35 percent. Allianz does expect a decrease in the number of bankruptcies in the Netherlands For 2025 and 2026, of 2 percent and 1 percent, respectively, but no other place in the eurozone has a decrease this low.
"The bad bankruptcy figures are not isolated. I noticed that figures regarding the Dutch economy are getting increasingly worse. The German economic issues that continue to persist are certainly responsible for this," said Allianz Trade risk director Johan Geeroms.
In addition to the situation in Germany, Geeroms also pointed out several other negative factors for the Dutch economy, like the increase in salary costs, reduction of labor productivity, declining innovation power, and tightness on the electricity grid.
He also noticed that the Netherlands dropped on the world competition list from fifth place to ninth. This makes the Netherlands the country with the most significant drop in Europe.
Allianz Trade has also become more pessimistic about the global corporate landscape, now predicting an 11 percent increase in global insolvencies in 2024. In its previous forecast in February, the credit insurer had expected a 9 percent increase, followed by a stabilization in 2025. The company is now expecting a 2 percent increase in 2025, with insolvencies not stabilizing until 2026.
According to Allianz Trade, the number of large bankruptcies has reached a new record level, especially in Western Europe. This is a threat to employment, especially in Europe and North America. These could see 1.6 million jobs disappear near 2025, which would be the highest level in 10 years. The most vulnerable sectors are construction, retail, and service provision.
The worldwide increase in bankruptcies is partly due to mediocre worldwide demand and continuous geopolitical insecurity, according to Geeroms.
He also believes that there is a catch-up effect, as companies are no longer protected by the support measures taken during the pandemic and the energy crisis.
Reporting by ANP