Unemployment in the Netherlands rose slightly in August

The unemployment rate in the Netherlands rose slightly compared to the previous month, Statistics Netherlands has reported. Last month, 3.9 percent of the labor force was without paid work. This is a very slight increase from July, when 3.8 percent were without employment. On average, the number of unemployed people increased by 5,000 per month over the last three months.

There were 401,000 unemployed people in the Netherlands in August. The increase in unemployment rates is due to more people seeking work but not being able to find a job instantly, according to Statistics Netherlands.

The unemployment rate amongst the under-45 population rose to 2.5 percent last month. This is the highest unemployment rate amongst this group since December 2022. After this, it dropped to 2.1 percent in December 2024, and it has increased again since then.

By the end of August, the UWV had 187,400 unemployment benefits on record, a decrease of 200 compared with the month before. Over the course of August, 21,800 new claims were added, while 22,100 came to an end.

Statistics Netherlands also reported that there were 378,000 unemployed people in the second quarter of the year. This is an increase compared to three years ago. There were 329,000 unemployed people in the second quarter of 2022.

The statistics office noted that the rise is not driven by long-term unemployment. Instead, it is largely among people who are jobless for less than a year, along with newcomers to the labor market who have not yet secured work. In the second quarter of 2025, short-term unemployment stood at 320,000, up from 249,000 three years before.

The unemployment rate in the second quarter of 2022 was 3.3 percent, which is the lowest rate of the last 20 years. Since then, the unemployment rate has increased gradually, with the rise mainly being caused by more new job seekers looking for employment.

Over the past two decades, unemployment driven primarily by job losses was seen only in 2009, when the credit crisis hit the labor market, and briefly again in 2020 at the onset of the coronavirus crisis.