Unemployment rate down to 3.6 percent in May

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© ANP / Patricia Rehe
Over the past three months, the number of unemployed persons has declined by an average of 4 thousand per month. In May 2024, there were 367 thousand unemployed people, equivalent to 3.6 percent of the labour force. This was 3.7 percent in April. The unemployment rate has been hovering around 3.6 since summer 2023. The number of employed people has increased. Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reports this based on newly released figures. At the end of May, the Employee Insurance Agency (UWV) recorded 171 thousand people receiving unemployment (WW) benefits, 500 more than at the end of April.

As a result, there were 9.8 million people in paid employment in May. The number of employed people grew again by 10 thousand a month, on average, over the past three months, after stagnating in the first months of this year.

A total of nearly 3.6 million people aged 15 to 74 were not in paid employment for various reasons. In addition to the 367 people who were unemployed, nearly 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. Many of them are retirees and people who are unable to work due to sickness or work incapacity. Averaged over the past three months, the number of people outside the labour force fell by 5 thousand.

UWV: Number of unemployment (WW) benefits increased slightly in May

At the end of May 2024, UWV recorded 170.8 thousand recipients of unemployment (WW) benefits. That was nearly 500 more than at the end of April (+0.3 percent). In May, 23.9 thousand new unemployment benefits were granted and 23.4 thousand benefits were terminated. Since October 2023, the number of unemployment benefits has increased slightly almost every month.

UWV: Differences between sectors

In May, the number of unemployment (WW) benefits rose the most in the government sector (+4.1 percent), the food, beverages and tobacco industry (+3.8 percent) and the cleaning sector. There were also sectors in which the number of unemployment (WW) benefits decreased, such as agriculture (-6.9 percent), construction (-6.9 percent) and temporary employment (-4.4 percent). These sectors usually offer more work in spring.

Youth unemployment declined

In May, unemployment fell the most among young people, from 8.7 to 8.4 percent of the labour force aged 15 to 24. The unemployment rate is significatnly higher in this age group than among people aged 25 and over. There were also larger fluctuations in the unemployment rate among young people in the previously 12 months. Youth unemployment is mostly about young people in education who are seeking part-time jobs.
Among 25 to 44-year-olds in the labour force, the rate decreased from 3.1 to 3.0 percent. It remained stable among people aged 45 and over, at 2.1 percent.

Employment outflow slightly higher than inflow

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.

In the first months of 2024, unemployment grew mainly because more people outside the labour force were seeking employment, but did not find it immediately. That inflow into employment has since fallen again and more people have found a job, both unemployed people and job seekers from outside the labour force. This led to a net decrease in the unemployed labour force of 12 thousand over the past three months, or 4 thousand per month, on average.

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.

Sources

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