Dutch unemployment rate falls slightly to 3.8% with 387,000 unemployed in April

The unemployment rate in the Netherlands fell a little in April 2025, dropping to 3.8 percent from 3.9 percent in March, according to data released Thursday by Statistics Netherlands (CBS). The total number of unemployed people stood at 387,000 last month, a small decrease following increases in the first three months of the year.

Over the past three months, the number of unemployed stayed nearly the same, while the number of people with paid jobs rose slightly, gaining about 3,000 workers per month on average. Meanwhile, the number of people not in the labor force dropped by about 4,000 each month.

At the end of April, the Dutch Employee Insurance Agency (UWV) reported 184,100 active unemployment benefits (WW), down by 5,400 from March. In April, 18,400 new benefits were granted, while 23,800 were stopped.

All sectors saw fewer unemployment benefits in April. The biggest drop happened in temporary jobs, which fell 6.4 percent, followed by agriculture, landscaping, and fishing at 5.5 percent, and hospitality and catering at 4.6 percent. The smallest decreases were in other industries (0.2 percent), banking and insurance (0.3 percent), the chemical industry (1.2 percent), and government jobs (1.3 percent).

In April, 9.8 million people were employed, while the total labor force — including both employed and unemployed — was 10.2 million. The total population aged 15 to 75 living in private households was 13.4 million.

Besides the 387,000 unemployed, about 3.2 million people were not part of the labor force in April. This group includes those who haven’t looked for work recently or aren’t available to start a job right away, such as retirees or people unable to work due to illness or disability.

CBS said the labor market remained balanced. In the three months before April, 127,000 people joined the labor force and found jobs, while 91,000 entered the labor force but remained unemployed. At the same time, 211,000 left the labor force after quitting jobs, and 185,000 stopped looking for work. Additionally, 144,000 unemployed people found jobs, while 109,000 employed people lost jobs and became unemployed.