Unemployment up after months of decrease

According to the latest figures from Statistics Netherlands, an average 461 thousand people in the Netherlands were unemployed in the three months from August to October. After correction for seasonal effects, unemployment came to 476 thousand in this period. This is 16 thousand higher than in the period July to September. Seasonally corrected unemployment is therefore up again for the first time in four months.

Unemployment fluctuates

The last six months have been marked by alternate increases and decreases in unemployment. The recent increase puts the number of unemployed after seasonal correction near to the level of six months ago.

Compared with twelve months previously unemployment was 68 thousand higher, pushed up by a strong increase at the end of 2003 and the beginning of 2004. Unemployment was 6.1 percent in the period August-October 2004. One year earlier this was 5.2 percent.

More men than women unemployed

In the last year the number of unemployed men increased by 41 thousand and the number of unemployed women by 26 thousand. In the period August to October 2003 just as many men as women were unemployed. Now there are 239 thousand unemployed men compared with 222 thousand unemployed women. However, as the total number of women on the labour market - employed and unemployed - is much smaller than the number of men, the rate of unemployment among women (6.9 percent) is higher than that among men (5.5 percent).

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