Unemployment among people with a western and non-western background marginally up in 2011

• Unemployment rate people with western and non-western background 7.1 and 13.1 percent respectively
• Unemployment among young people with non-western background almost unchanged
• Unemployment among men with non-western background higher than among their female counterparts

According to the latest figures released by Statistics Netherlands, 262 thousand native Dutch, 104 thousand residents with a non-western background and 52 thousand with a western background were seeking employment last year.

Among people with a non-western background, the proportion of unemployed in the labour force grew marginally from 12.6 percent in 2010 to 13.1 percent in 2011. The increase is less substantial than in the preceding two years. The unemployment rate among people with a western ethnic background also increased somewhat, to 7.1 percent, but with 4.2 percent, the rate among native Dutch residents was slightly below the 2010 level. In the two preceding years, the rate had gone up.

The marginal unemployment growth in the population with a non-western background was most obvious among over-25s. The rate among young people with a non-western ethnic background remained stable relative to 2010 at 23.4 percent. Among young native Dutch, unemployment was reduced from 9.7 percent in 2010 to 7.7 percent in 2011.

The unemployment rate among non-western men rose marginally in 2011; from 12.2 to 13.5 percent, whereas the rate among non-western women diminished from 13.0 to 12.5 percent. This means that more men than women in the non-western population in the Netherlands were looking for jobs. The unemployment rate among native Dutch women also dropped, but the rate for remained at the same level for native Dutch men.

The overall unemployment rate in the Netherlands started to grow again in the course of 2011 after a decline at the end of 2010. As a result, the annual averages over 2010 and 2011 are still close together.