Unemployment remains unchanged

• Unemployment figure in November same as in October
• 8 thousand more job seekers at UWV
• Unemployment benefits increasing by 5 thousand

According to the latest figures released by Statistics Netherlands, the seasonally adjusted unemployment figure for November 2011 stood at 455 thousand. This is the same as in October, and represents 5.8 percent of the labour force.

The latest figures of the UWV show that both job seekers and unemployment benefits increased in number in November.

No further increase in unemployment

There was no rise in unemployment in November, unlike in the previous four months. The numbers of unemployed men and of unemployed women stayed almost identical in November. This means that unemployment remains at the same level as during the February 2010 peak.

Mostly an increase in male job seekers

UWV WERKbedrijf had 463 thousand registered job seekers on file in November, 8 thousand more than in October. The increase in November came particularly from domains where many men work, such as technical and transport professions. So the number of male job seekers rose faster than that of female job seekers. Just like in October, the highest relative increase was among job seekers under 25 years of age.

Fewer unemployment benefits terminated because of work resumption

The number of unemployment benefits ganted in November increased by 5 thousand, reaching 258 thousand. There were 34 thousand new unemployment benefits granted, up nearly 7 percent on October. The number of terminated benefits reached 29 thousand, down by 6.5 percent. Far fewer benefits were terminated because people resumed work (-12.2%).