Unemployment continues to rise

The number of people in employment exceeded 9.8 million for the first time at the end of last year, but declined to just under 9.8 million in February. However, an average of 2 thousand more people per month have found paid employment over the past three months. Apart from that, 3.6 million people aged 15 to 74 were not in paid employment for various reasons. In addition to people who were unemployed, another 3.2 million people were not seeking and/or immediately available for work recently. These people are not counted as part of the labour force. They mainly include retirees and people unable to work due to sickness or work incapacity. Over the past three months, the number of people outside the labour force has fallen by 7 thousand a month on average.

UWV: the number of unemployment (WW) benefits also rose in February

At the end of February, the UWV issued 173.7 thousand WW benefits. That was 6.6 thousand more than in the previous month (+4.0 percent). In February, 22.5 thousand WW benefits were terminated, while 29.1 thousand new benefits were granted.

WW increase in all age groups

In February 2023, there were 153.9 thousand people receiving unemployment benefits; one year later in 2024, there were 173.7 thousand, i.e. an increase of 19.8 thousand (12.9 percent). The number of unemployed people receiving WW benefits rose in all age groups. The increase was highest among those aged 15 to 24 years (23.9 percent), 25 to 34 years (22.0 percent), and 35 to 44 years (18.7 percent). The increase was slightly less pronounced in the age group 45 to 54 years (10.6 percent) and 55 years and older (3.0 percent).

Youth unemployment rose in February

Higher unemployment mainly due to loss of jobs

Unemployment trends are the result of underlying flows between those in employment, the unemployed and those who are not part of the labour force. This is visualised in the chart below. The graph below the chart shows the changes in these different flows over the past few months.

Unemployment can increase or decrease due to four different changes in people’s circumstances. Two of these can lead to lower unemployment: when unemployed people find a job, and when unemployed people stop seeking employment and leave the labour market.

There are also two changes that can lead to higher unemployment: when people who have lost their job seek employment, and when people who were previously not part of the labour market start seeking employment. If people in these groups do not find work immediately, they become part of the unemployed labour force.

Over the past three months, more people have lost their jobs, and since January there have also been a relatively high number of people seeking employment but not finding it immediately.

Every month, CBS publishes figures on the labour force in accordance with guidelines of the International Labour Organization (ILO). The corresponding indicators, i.e. the employed and unemployed labour force, are used around the world to describe cyclical developments on the labour market. Monthly figures are essential in this respect. In addition, UWV issues its own monthly figures on unemployment benefits. Figures released by UWV do not correspond one-to-one with the labour force indicators. For more details on the different sources, see our technical explanation (Dutch only).