Unemployment remained at 3.6 percent in July

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© Tineke Dijkstra
A total of 370 thousand people aged 15 to 74 years were unemployed in July 2024. That is 3.6 percent of the labour force, unchanged from May and June. Over the past three months, the number of unemployed persons has declined by an average of 2 thousand per month. Meanwhile, over the same period the number of employed people has risen by an average of 2 thousand per month. Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reports this based on newly released figures. At the end of July, the Employee Insurance Agency (UWV) recorded 164 thousand current recipients of unemployment (WW) benefit. That was 4 thousand fewer than at the end of June.

Almost 3.6 million people aged 15 to 74 were not in paid work in July, for a variety of reasons. In addition to the 370 thousand people who were unemployed, nearly 3.2 million people were not actively seeking work or not 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 risen by 6 thousand per month.

UWV: number of recipients of unemployment benefit fell by 2.2 percent in July

At the end of July 2021, UWV was providing unemployment (WW) benefit to 164.2 thousand people. That was a fall of 3.6 thousand (or 2.2 percent) compared to June. The number of people receiving unemployment benefits often falls at this time of year because there is usually more work in sectors like construction and agriculture. In July, 18.8 thousand new unemployment benefits were granted, and 22.4 thousand were terminated.

UWV: biggest fall in unemployment in the construction sector

Compared to the previous month, the number of unemployment (WW) benefit recipients fell the most sharply in the construction sector (down by 7.8 percent), the agriculture, landscaping and fisheries sector (down by 6.7 percent) and the accommodation and food services sector (down by 4.3 percent). The only sector in which there was an increase in unemployment benefits was the cultural sector (up by 0.6 percent). In absolute numbers, however, the number of additional unemployment benefit recipients was very low (10 recipients).

More unemployed people are finding jobs than vice versa

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 occurs when an unemployed person stops seeking work and leaves the labour market. In July 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 July (232 thousand) was slightly lower than the number of people who left the unemployed labour force. As such, the number of unemployed persons has fallen slightly over the past three months.

Yesterday, based on quarterly figures CBS reported that the number of unemployed people also fell slightly in Q2 2024 compared to Q1, and the number of jobs continued to increase during that period. In Q2 2024, the number of workers in permanent employment increased in particular. Viewed over the longer term, the sectors where the number of employees in permanent employment is increasing are primarily public administration and public services, education and health and welfare.

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.

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