Sharp decline in long-term unemployment over past decade

Stadskanaal - A woman looks at job vacancies at an employment agency.
© ANP / Venema Media
In the second quarter of 2023, 1 in 7 unemployed people were long-term unemployed, i.e. twelve months or more. This share was significantly higher in the same quarter of 2013: 1 in 3. In 2023, unemployed people were relatively likely to be out of work for only a short time. This is reported by Statistics Netherlands (CBS).

In total, there were 348 thousand unemployed in Q2 2023. This means unemployment has more than halved over the past decade. The number of long-term unemployed declined relatively sharply: from 240 thousand in Q2 2013 to 47 thousand in 2023. The number of people who have been unemployed for only a short time (less than 12 months) decreased from 484 thousand to 288 thousand in the same period.

Short-term unemployed on average younger than decade ago

On average, the total group of unemployed people is younger than ten years ago. This rejuvenation is only visible among the unemployed who have only been out of work for a short time (less than 12 months). In Q2 2023, 48 percent of them were under the age of 25, while this share was still 38 percent in 2013.

On average, long-term unemployed people are older than those who have been unemployed for a short time. Moreover, the share of over-45s among the long-term unemployed has increased slightly over the past decade. The age distribution of the total population aged 15 to 74 years has not changed much during this period.

Relatively sharp increase in education level of unemployed

In Q2 2023, unemployed people were on average higher educated than a decade ago. For example, 31 percent had a high education level (HBO, WO), against 20 percent in 2013. The share of highly educated people also increased among the total population, but less sharply than among the unemployed: from 28 percent in Q2 2013 to 36 percent in Q2 2023.

Among both the long-term unemployed and those who have been looking for work for less than a year, the share of highly educated people rose. However, the increase was strongest among the long-term unemployed. In Q2 2023, 29 percent of the people who were short-term unemployed were highly educated. Among the long-term unemployed, this was 40 percent.

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