Unemployment declined further in February

In February, 3.7 million people aged 15 to 74 years did not have paid work for a variety of reasons. In addition to the unemployed, 3.4 million people were not looking and/or immediately available for work recently; they are not counted towards the labour force. Their number decreased by an average of 9 thousand per month over the past three months.

Unemployment rate lower in February

In order to enable comparison of cyclical developments in the labour market across countries, the unemployment indicator of the International Labour Organization (ILO) is used as a measure. According to this indicator, the unemployed include all persons who do not have paid work but who have been looking recently and who are immediately available. This covers the population aged 15 to 74 years. Between February and July 2020, at the beginning of the coronavirus crisis, the unemployment rate rose from 4.0 to 5.5 percent. This was followed by almost continuous decline, to 3.4 percent of the labour force in February this year. This is the lowest rate in the series with monthly figures as of 2003.

UWV: number of WW benefits down again in February

At the end of February 2022, UWV was providing 187.6 thousand WW benefits. This is 5.3 thousand fewer than at the end of January, i.e. a decrease of 2.8 percent. In the period February until November 2021, the number of WW benefits declined continuously. In December and January, the number rose slightly (by 1.3 and 0.6 percent, respectively). This increase was offset by the decrease in February. At the end of February 2022, UWV provided 34.4 percent fewer benefits than at the end of February 2021 and 21.9 percent fewer compared to the end of February 2020, just before the start of the coronavirus crisis.

UWV: sharpest decrease in agriculture, cleaning, transportation and accommodation and food services

The decrease in the number of WW benefits relative to the end of January 2022 was most substantial in the sector agriculture, greenery and fisheries (-4.7 percent). In December, this seasonally sensitive sector saw a sharp rise (+15.1 percent). In January, the number of WW benefits remained stable and in February, it was down again in the agricultural sector.

The sectors cleaning, transport and logistics, and accommodation, food and catering services also saw a decline in WW benefits of at least 4 percent relative to January. This decrease coincided with the relaxation of coronavirus measures at the end of January and in February, allowing activities in these sectors to be resumed or expanded.

Another sharp rise in net labour participation among young people

The number of employed stood at 9.4 million at the end of February. This is 54 thousand up on three months previously, at the end of November. Of this latter group, 30 thousand were under the age of 25. As a result, the net labour participation rate among young people rose to 74.8 percent in February. This was still 74.3 percent in the previous month. Among 25 to 44-year-olds as well, net labour participation rose slightly in February. It remained stable among the over-45s.

There are many part-time workers among young people in employment; they are more likely to be available for more hours compared to the over-25s.

Unemployment declined over the past three months

The further decline in the number of unemployed over the past three months is the result of underlying flows between the active, unemployed and inactive labour force. This is visualised in the diagram below.

In February, 336 thousand people were unemployed. This number stood at 359 thousand three months previously, in November. Unemployment therefore declined by 23 thousand over this period (8 thousand per month on average). As shown in the above diagram, unemployment can decline because unemployed people find a job or because they withdraw from the labour market. Conversely, there can be an inflow into unemployment from the active labour force and from the inactive labour force.

In the past three months, there were more unemployed who found a job than employed who lost their job, as a result of which unemployment fell by 62 thousand on balance. The decline was mitigated by the fact that more people started seeking work without immediate result (from inactive labour force to unemployed) than stopped seeking and/or became unavailable (from unemployed to inactive labour force). On balance, there was an inflow of 38 thousand unemployed from the inactive labour force.

Development of unemployment during the coronavirus crisis

Unemployment rose rapidly due to the outbreak of the coronavirus crisis in March 2020. During the first phase of the crisis, April to July 2020 inclusive, unemployment grew mainly because more people in work lost their job and fewer unemployed found a job. It continued to grow in August and September 2020, mainly because people who were previously not looking or not available entered the labour market but did not find a job immediately. As of October 2020, unemployment fell continuously, mainly due to another sharp rise in the number of people who found work.