Unemployment slowly down

In the period March – May, the seasonally adjusted unemployment figure stood at 307 thousand, i.e.  2 thousand down on the period February - April 2008.

Over the past six months, unemployment fell by an average of approximately 2 thousand a month. In the six months before, unemployment fell by an average of 5 thousand a month, so the reduction rate is slowing down.

Unemployment was down by 41 thousand on the same period last year. Unemployment has fallen every three-monthly period relative to the same period in the previous year for about two and a half years now. The most substantial reduction was recorded among 25 to 44-year-olds. This age group accounted for about three quarters of the total reduction in unemployment. The unemployment also dropped among young people and over-45s.

An average 4.1 percent of the total Dutch labour force was unemployed in the period March – May, as against 4.7 percent twelve months previously. As usual, the unemployment rate for women was higher than for men: 4.8 and 3.5 percent respectively.

Unemployment, seasonally adjusted