Unemployment up in January

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© ANP / Peter Hilz
Unemployment stood at 386 thousand in January 2025. This is 3.8 percent of the labour force, which means that the unemployment rate has risen for the first time in five months. This was not a result of more people losing their jobs, but of more people seeking for a job but not finding one immediately. Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reports this based on newly released figures. At the end of January, the Employee Insurance Agency (UWV) recorded 189 thousand current unemployment (WW) benefits.

From November to January, an average of three thousand people per month became unemployed and 15 thousand people found a job. As a result, there were 9.8 million people in paid employment in January. Apart from that, 3.6 million people aged 15 to 74 were not in paid employment. In addition to the 386 thousand people who were unemployed, 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 illness or occupational disability. 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 17 thousand per month.

Changes in labour force composition, January 2025, average change over 3 months Population, 15 to 74 yrs, private households13.4 million. Change: +1 thousand p/m. Not included in labour force: 3.2 million. Change: -17 thousand p/m. Labour fource: 10.2 million. Change: +18 thousand p/m. Unemployed labour force : 386 thousand. Change: +3 thousand p/m. Employed labour force: 9.8 million. Change: +15 thousand p/m. Employed labour force 9.8 million +15 thousand p/m Unemployed labour force 386 thousand +3 thousand p/m Labour fource 10.2 million +18 thousand p/m Not included in labour force 3.2 million –17 thousand p/m Population, 15 to 74 yrs, private households 13.4 million +1 thousand p/m Changes in labour force composition January 2025, average change over 3 months

UWV: number of unemployment benefits rose by 14.6 thousand in January

At of the end of January, UWV recorded 189.5 thousand unemployment benefits. That was 14.6 thousand more than at the end of December (up by 8.4 percent). In January, 37.1 thousand new unemployment benefits were granted and 22.5 benefits were terminated. Just as in previous years, the number of current unemployment benefits increased during the first month of this year compared to the previous month. This is because many employment contracts expire at year-end.

The number of unemployment benefits increased the most in the retail trade (15.3 percent) culture (15.1 percent), and construction (13.6 percent) sectors.

Unemployment among young people continues to rise

Unemployment increased across all age groups in January, but most among young people. Among those aged 15 to 24, the unemployment rate was up from 8.7 to 8.9 percent. Youth unemployment has been increasing for some time, but is still relatively low compared to previous years. The percentage of young people in paid employment has also increased since 2021, but declined slightly for the first time in 2024.


Unemployment rose because more people were seeking work

Trends in unemployment 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 years.

Labour market flows, Seasonally adjusted; changes relative to 3 months previously – januari 2025 210000 of those not incluced in the labour force join the labour market and find a job. 192000 of the employed labour force quit their jobs and leave the labour market. 125000 of those not included in the labour force start looking for work. 140000 of the unemployed labour force find a job. 113000 of the employed labour force become unemployed. 89000 of the unemployed labour force are no longer looking for work. Not included in labour force Employed labour force Unemployed labour force Are no longer looking for work Quit their jobs, leave the labour market Join the labour market, find a job Start looking for work Become unemployed Find a job Labour market flows Seasonally adjusted; changes relative to 3 months previously, januari 2025 125,000 89,000 192,000 210,000 140,000 113,000


 
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 January, there were 229 thousand people who had been unemployed three months earlier.

There are also two changes that 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 was higher in January at 238 thousand than the number of unemployed who found work or exited into the nonworking population (229 thousand). This was mainly due to an increase in the number of people who started seeking work from the nonworking population, did not find work immediately and thus became unemployed. As a result, the number of unemployed persons rose, by an average of 3 thousand per month over the past three months.

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.

Sources

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