Unemployment virtually unchanged in June

More recent figures are available on this topic. View the latest figures here.
© ANP / Robin Utrecht
In June 2024, 370 thousand people aged 15 to 74 years were unemployed. This represents 3.6 percent of the labour force, the same percentage as in May. Over the past three months, the number of unemployed persons has hardly changed. The number of employed people has risen over this period, by an average of 5 thousand per month. Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reports this based on newly released figures. At the end of June, the Employee Insurance Agency (UWV) recorded 168 thousand current recipients of unemployment (WW) benefit. That was 3 thousand fewer than at the end of May.

Almost 3.6 million people aged 15 to 74 were not in paid work in June, for a variety of reasons. In addition to the 370 thousand people who were unemployed, nearly 3.2 million people were not seeking and/or immediately available for work. Many of these are retirees and people who are unable to work due to sickness or incapacitation. These people are not counted as part of the labour force. Averaged over the past three months, the number of people outside the labour force has fallen by 5 thousand per month.

Unemployment and unemployment benefits
JaartalMaandUnemployment (ILO) (15-74 yrs, seasonally adjusted) (x 1,000)Unemployment benefits (15 yrs-state pension age) (x 1,000)
2017Jan588419
2017Feb582416
2017Mar571415
2017Apr563401
2017May564386
2017Jun555372
2017Jul544364
2017Aug534362
2017Sept529351
2017Oct511343
2017Nov504337
2017Dec503330
2018Jan487335
2018Feb474330
2018Mar465327
2018Apr463314
2018May460301
2018Jun463288
2018Jul458279
2018Aug463278
2018Sept451274
2018Oct444269
2018Nov433267
2018Dec437263
2019Jan437279
2019Feb419274
2019Mar416268
2019Apr409257
2019May411251
2019Jun423243
2019Jul424234
2019Aug432237
2019Sept432233
2019Oct432233
2019Nov434228
2019Dec409223
2020Jan390241
2020Feb383240
2020Mar388250
2020Apr427292
2020May439301
2020Jun513301
2020Jul532301
2020Aug533292
2020Sept519278
2020Oct509278
2020Nov485276
2020Dec476286
2021Jan448289
2021Feb450286
2021Mar439282
2021Apr427266
2021May419250
2021Jun405238
2021Jul393224
2021Aug406213
2021Sept399208
2021Oct382199
2021Nov359189
2021Dec369192
2022Jan354193
2022Feb336188
2022Mar327184
2022Apr316175
2022May323165
2022Jun339161
2022Jul353157
2022Aug378152
2022Sept382152
2022Oct365150
2022Nov364145
2022Dec352149
2023Jan360154
2023Feb356154
2023Mar357158
2023Apr343156
2023May353151
2023Jun353153
2023Jul362152
2023Aug364156
2023Sept371155
2023Oct361156
2023Nov357160
2023Dec361161
2024Jan368167
2024Feb379174
2024Mar371175
2024Apr375170
2024May367171
2024Jun370168

UWV: number of recipients of unemployment benefit fell by 1.7 percent in June

At the end of June 2024, UWV provided unemployment (WW) benefits to 167.8 thousand recipients. That was a drop of 3 thousand (-1.7 percent) compared to May. The number of people receiving unemployment benefits often drops at this time of year because there is more work in sectors like construction and agriculture from the spring onwards. In June, 18.7 thousand new unemployment benefits were granted, while 21.7 thousand were terminated.

UWV: fall in unemployment greatest in the construction sector

Compared to last month, the number of unemployment (WW) benefit recipients fell the most sharply in the construction sector (down by 8.0 percent), temporary employment agencies (down by 6.2 percent) and the agriculture, landscaping and fisheries sector (down by 5.3 percent). The sectors where the number of unemployment benefit recipients increased were all industrial sectors: the metal industry (up by 1.0 percent), the food, beverages and tobacco industry (up by 0.6 percent) and other manufacturing (up by 0.3 percent). In absolute numbers, however, the increases in these sectors were limited.

Labour force has grown by 160 thousand over past year

The unemployment rate has been hovering at around 3.6 since the summer of 2023. Over the same period, net labour participation has increased slightly, reaching 73.4 percent in the past three months. Because the population has also been growing, 88 thousand more people were in employment in June 2024 than one year earlier. Meanwhile, the number of unemployed was 17 thousand higher. That means the total labour force grew by 105 thousand.

Unemployment rate stable

Unemployment trends are the result of underlying movements 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. The first change occurs when an unemployed person finds a job. The second change takes place when an unemployed person stops seeking work and leaves the labour market. In June 2024, 235 thousand people who had been unemployed three months previously, found employment.

There are also two movements in the opposite direction, which can lead to higher unemployment. The first happens when an employed person loses their job and the second when a person who was previously unavailable for work decides to seek employment. If people in these groups do not find work immediately, they become part of the unemployed labour force. The total number of people who became unemployed in June (234 thousand) was almost equal to the number of people who left the unemployed labour force. As such, the number of unemployed persons has hardly changed over the past three months. Unemployment rose slightly in the first few months of 2024, mainly because more people from outside the labour force decided to seek employment, but did not find a job 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 benefit. The figures released by UWV do not correspond directly with the labour force indicators. For more details on the different sources, see our technical explanation (in Dutch only).