Unemployment increasing further
- 121 thousand more people unemployed within one year
- Same number of men and women unemployed
- UWV registers above-average increase in job seekers under 35
- Further increase in number of unemployment benefits
In the period September-November 2009 there were on average 400 thousand people unemployed. This constitutes 5.2 percent of the labour force. A year earlier this was 3.6 percent, according to the latest figures by Statistics Netherlands and the UWV. The UWV figures show that the number of unemployed job seekers under 35 has increased substantially. The number of unemployment benefits (WW) increased by 133 thousand in one year to 297 thousand.
Statistics Netherlands and the UWV will publish a joint monthly press release on key unemployment figures. Statistics Netherlands publishes the results on the unemployed labour force and the UWV about the unemployed job seekers and unemployment benefits (WW).
Rise of 10 thousand a month over the previous six months
The seasonally adjusted unemployment figure in the period September-November 2009 reached 412 thousand, 9 thousand more than in the previous three-month period. Because the figures are sample-based it is better to look at developments over a slightly longer period. In the preceding six months unemployment rose by an average of about 10 thousand a month.
In the period September-November unemployment was up by 121 thousand on the same period in 2008. Among men the number of unemployed rose by 70 thousand to 201 thousand. Among women the increase within one year was 51 thousand, making the number of unemployed women 200 thousand. So the unemployment figure is virtually the same for women and men. However, the unemployment rate for women remains higher than for men.
Sharp increase in job seekers under 35
The number of unemployed job seekers registered at UWV WERKbedrijf increased by 7 thousand in November 2009 to 501 thousand. Compared to a year ago their number increased by 91 thousand, or 22 percent. The increase was across the board in all age brackets. The sharpest rise was observed among people under 25 and among 25-35 year-olds, namely 58.7 and 45.8 percent respectively.
Number of unemployment benefits up
By the end of November the number of unemployment benefits (WW) reached 297 thousand, up 133 thousand on the previous year. Part consists of part-time WW benefits. In November over 39 thousand new WW benefits started and nearly 32 thousand WW benefits ended. Almost half ended because people started work again.