unemployment

The Dutch economy grew by 2.5 percent last year, compared to 2.9 percent growth in 2017, Statistics Netherlands reported based on initial figures. The economic growth was boosted by higher consumer spending and business investment. The trade balance - the difference between imports and exports - contributed less to the growth than the year before.

The number of unemployed people in the Netherlands decreased to 326 thousand in November. That means that 3.5 percent of the Dutch labor force are unemployed, slightly lower than before the outbreak of the financial crisis at the end of 2008, Statistics Netherlands reported on Thursday.

Statistics Netherlands considers someone to be unemployed if he or she does not have paid work, is actively looking for work, and is available to start immediately. Over the past three months the number of unemployed people declined by an average of 9 thousand per month.

Dutch people often misjudge important facts about the Netherlands. The Dutch population's perception about immigration, unemployment and climate change figures, among others, is far wrong, according to the study Perils of Perception by Ipsos. The research agency interviewed citizens from 37 countries. In none of the countries did the citizens estimate figures correctly, RTL Nieuws reports.

The Dutch economy will continue growing this year and next year, though a bit slower than expected, central planning office CPB said on Thursday. The CPB expects 2.8 percent growth in 2018 and 2.6 percent in 2019, instead of 2.9 percent and 2.7 percent as the office expected in June, NU.nl reports.

The Amsterdam Metropolitan Region developed strongly after the financial crisis and will continue to do so in the coming years, according to the Economic Outlook Metropolitan Region Amsterdam 2018 that the city of Amsterdam published on Wednesday. The city attributes the region's success to its "diverse and open economy in which both large and small companies can grow". 

The Dutch economy grew by 3.2 percent last year, and more people in the Netherlands had work than ever before. Despite this, the growth in net disposable income is still lagging behind, Statistics Netherlands reported on Tuesday.

In 2017 net real disposable income - the amount Dutch have left to spend after all premiums and taxes were deducted, corrected for inflation - grew by 1.5 percent. This was the third year in a row that Dutch had more to spend. But the growth is small compared to the 3.2 percent growth in the Netherlands gross domestic product. 

Only 11 percent of the 20 thousand asylum seekers who got refugee status in the Netherlands in 2014, had paid work in the summer of last year. A year and a half after obtaining refugee status, on 4 percent had paid work, according to figures Statistics Netherlands released on Tuesday.

Half of the refugees that came to the Netherlands in 2014 are from Syria. 10 percent of this group had paid work last summer - Statistics Netherlands' latest reference date. 6 percent of the 4 thousand Eritrean refugees had work. Most of the refugees in these two groups are still on welfare. 

The Dutch economy will continue to grow strongly this year and next year, according to expectations announced by the Netherlands office for economic policy analysis CPB on Tuesday. Next year unemployment will drop to its lowest level since 2001, NU.nl reports.

The number of new unemployment benefits to young people up to the age of 27 years decreased by almost a quarter in 2017, benefits agency UWV announced. Last year a total of 61,500 young people received new unemployment benefits, compared to 80 thousand the year before, NU.nl reports.

Despite steadily decreasing since 2014, unemployment in the Netherlands is still higher than it was before the financial crisis hit in 2008, Statistics Netherlands reported on Tuesday. Unemployment among men between the ages of 25 and 45 years is currently more than three times as high as it was at the start of the crisis.

Unemployment in the Netherlands continues to steadily decline. In November 4.4 percent of the labor force was unemployed, compared to 4.5 percent in October. That amounts to 397 thousand unemployed people, dropping below the 400 thousand mark for the first time since August 2009, Statistics Netherlands reported on Thursday.