Unemployment up

Dutch unemployment has risen for the first time in a year. The seasonally corrected unemployment figure in the period July-September of 2006 was 417 thousand. This is 14 thousand more than in June-August. In the period July-September, 5.4 percent of the labour force was unemployed.

Despite the rise, there are almost 70 thousand fewer people unemployed than a year ago. Unemployment among people aged 15-24 fell by 23 thousand. The unemployment rate among young people fell most, by 2.5 percent point to 10.9. Among people aged 25-44, unemployment decreased by 1.2 percent point to 4.4 percent. Among people over 45 there was an increase in unemployment, but the unemployment rate fell slightly to 4.9 percent.

The rise in unemployment shows that more people seek to enter the job market, which is partly due to the positive economic developments. Apparently these job seekers have not found a job right away. It is too early to tell if the increase in unemployment observed in the period July-September 2006 means a turning point in unemployment developments.

Unemployment, seasonally adjusted