Increase in people receiving welfare benefits continues, especially among young people

At the end of June, 410,000 people under state pension age received a social assistance benefit, over 5,000 more than a year earlier (+1.3%). The increase is strongest among young people under the age of 27, Statistics Netherlands reported.

After declining for over two years, the number of social assistance recipients has been rising again since the third quarter of 2023, though the number is still below the peak seen in early 2021.

The number of welfare recipients increased most among people under 27. Compared to June last year, the number of young people on welfare increased by 2,500 people or 6.2 percent. “This is the tenth consecutive quarter in which the number of people under 27 receiving welfare benefits has been higher than a year earlier,” CBS said.

The number of welfare recipients also increased in the 27 to 45 age group, by 1.9 percent or 2,600 people. This was the sixth consecutive quarter of increase. In the age group 45 to state pension age (67), the number of welfare recipients has been relatively stable for 10 quarters, compared to a year earlier.

The increase in welfare recipients was stronger among men. At the end of June, 2.3 percent (4,100) more men were receiving benefits than a year earlier, the ninth consecutive quarter of increase. The number of women receiving benefits increased by 0.5 percent (1,100). In the previous six quarters, this figure remained virtually unchanged, increasing by 0.2 percent at most.

Despite the stronger increase among men, there are still more women receiving social assistance than men - 229,000 women and 181,000 men.