In September 4.9 percent of the Dutch labor force were unemployed, according to figures from Statistics Netherlands and benefits agency UWV. This figure is the same as in August of this year, but lower than the 5.7 percent unemployment rate of September 2016.
The unemployment rate only includes unemployed people who want work and are available to start immediately. It does not include people who want to work, but aren't immediately available, or people with part time work who want to work more.
Since the establishment of the National Police in 2013, some 3 thousand police officers were placed on long-term sick leave and are now sitting at home with hardly any contact with their employer, Jan Struis, chairman of Dutch police union NPB, said on EenVandaag on Thursday. According to him, many of these cops were put on sick leave after expressing criticism about the police, ANP reports.
A massive 31 percent of people who receive welfare benefits in the Netherlands are also receiving psychological treatment, according to a study by Statistics Netherlands and Harvard University. Among people who work or go to school, 10 percent undergo psychological treatment, NOS reports.
Dutch benefits agency UWV wrongly refused to pay maternity leave to pregnant self-employed women and now has to make sure they get "appropriate compensation", the Central Council of Appeals ruled on Thursday in a case about three women who gave birth in 2005, ANP reports.
The number of job vacancies for young people is increasing rapidly in the Netherlands, especially for young people with vocational qualifications. Between September 2016 and February 2017 there were a total of 214 thousand vacancies at vocational level, according to a study by benefits agency UWV and the organization for cooperation between vocational education and the business world SBB, NU.nl reports.
The last quarter of 2016 had 26 percent more vocational vacancies than the same quarter in 2015.
Unemployment in the Netherlands dropped by an average of 6 thousand people per month over the past three months, according to Statistics Netherlands. Youth unemployment in particular plummeted, dropping from 9.7 percent in February to 9 percent in May - the lowest level since March 2009.
There is a rapidly increasing shortage in construction staff in the Netherlands, according to benefits agency UWV. There is a major need for carpenters, masons and installation engineers, as well as many vacancies for preparatory construction staff like jop preparers, ANP reports.
By next year the UWV expects an increase of 30 thousand jobs for construction workers. An increase of another 4 thousand jobs is also expected for freelancers.
Unemployment in the Netherlands dropped by an average of 6 thousand people per month during the first three months of this year, according to figures released by Statistics Netherlands. In March a total of 463 thousand people in the Netherlands were unemployed, 5.1 percent of the working population. In March last year, there were 574 thousand unemployed.
The number of people with paid work increased by an average of 14 thousand per month over the past three months. At the end of March benefits agency UWV was paying 415 thousand unemployment benefits, a decrease of 0.3 percent.
Long-term unemployment in the Netherlands decreased in 2016 for the firs time since 2009, Statistics Netherlands announced on Monday. There was even a decline among older workers, though the decrease was less significant than among younger age groups.
2016 saw the biggest drop in unemployment in the Netherlands in 10 years, according to figures from Statistics Netherlands. The unemployment rate dropped from 6.6 percent of the workforce in December 2015 to 5.4 percent in December 2016. The last time there was such a big decline in unemployment was in 2006, the statistics office announced on Thursday.
Last month 482 thousand people in the Netherlands were registered as unemployed and seeking work. That is 17 thousand fewer than in November 2016 and amounts to 5.4 percent of the workforce.
Government sites DigiD and MijnOverheid.nl are currently unavailable due to a technical fault. The sites went offline just before noon, NU.nl reports.
If you try logging into DigiD you are met with a message saying that DigiD is currently unavailable due to a fault. The same message can be seen on DigiD's Twitter feed. Logging into MijnOverheid.nl is also impossible, and there are problems with logging into the sites of the Tax Authorities, DUO and benefits agency UWV.
Complaint site Allestoringen.nl received hundreds of complaints, according to NOS.
The Dutch government wants more and better organized aid for the about 66 thousand young people in the Netherlands who are unqualified and unemployed. Ministers Lodewijk Asscher of Social Affairs and Employment and Jet Bussemaker of Education therefore instructed benefits agency UWV, social services and municipalities to team up for a joint approach to helping this vulnerable group, the Volkskrant reports.
Unemployment in the Netherlands continued its slight decline in November and for the first time since 2012 the number of unemployed in the country dropped below 500 thousand, Statistics Netherlands said on Thursday.
Last month there were 499 thousand unemployed people in the Netherlands, compared to 502 thousand in October. The unemployment rate remained stable at 5.6 percent of the workforce. Between September and November, the number of unemployed fell by an average of 7 thousand per month.
The number of people over 50 receiving unemployment benefits in the Netherlands continues to decline, according to benefits agency UWV on Tuesday. While the entire country is seeing a decline, there are large regional differences, NU.nl reports.
In Friesland the number of people over 50 on unemployment decreased by 13 percent since February. In Noord-Holland and Utrecht, the decline was around 4 percent.
The Dutch government is making it easier for employers to hire people with disabilities. On Friday benefits agency UWV launched an online system that puts employers in contact with disabled people looking for work, State Secretary Jetta Klijnsma of Social Affairs and Employment announced, Trouw reports.
Two thirds of unemployed people in the Netherlands manage to find another job within a year, according to figures from benefits agency UWV. The unemployed are benefiting from increasing job opportunities on the Dutch labor market
In August unemployment in the Netherlands dropped to its lowest rate since August 2012, Statistics Netherlands announced on Thursday. Last month 521 thousand people in the Netherlands were unemployed. That is 5.8 percent of the workforce, compared to 6 percent in July.
The Dutch parts of fashion chain MS Mode was declared bankrupt by the court in Amsterdam on Thursday. Administrator Frits Kemp also announced that the 130 Dutch branches will be closed for the time being
A school is opening in Rotterdam that will teach welfare recipients how to take the first steps as an entrepreneur. EingenBaas Avondschool (Own Boss Night School in English) is the first of its kind in the Netherlands
The unemployment rate in the Netherlands dropped to 6.1 percent of the workforce in June, Statistics Netherlands announced on Thursday. The number of unemployed people in the country decreased from 558 thousand in December 2015 to 550 thousand in June 2016.
Unemployment in the Netherlands continues to decline, according to figures released by Statistics Netherlands on Thursday. Most of the decline can be attributed to the age group 25 to 45 years, where unemployment has been falling almost continually for two years. People in long-term unemployment are still struggling to reenter the workforce.
Benefits agency UWV expects that the economic recovery will continue to mean an increase in the demand for labor this year and next year. UWV expects the number of jobs to grow by 1.1 percent this year and 0.9 percent in 2017, totalling in 200 thousand new jobs, according to the agency's latest forecast
Benefits agency UWV wants to use just graduated doctors to re-evaluate disability beneficiaries in an effort to get rid of the agency's backlog in reassessments. Both the union UWV doctors Novag and the Dutch association for insurance medicine NVVG are against this plan
Employment agencies looking for job candidates have to include at least one person over the age of 50 in the interviewees they send to their clients, according to employment agencies ABU and NBBU
