Slight rise in income support benefits
- 317 thousand income support benefits on 31 March 2012
- Small increase among people aged over 27
- Decrease among young people
According to the latest figures by Statistics Netherlands, 317 thousand income support benefits were provided on 31 March 2012. This means an increase by one thousand income support benefits to people aged under 65 since 31 December 2011. The income support benefits to young people fell during this period.
A total of 286 thousand income support benefits were provided to people aged 27 or older, up by 4 thousand on the previous quarter and by 8 thousand on 31 March 2011. This is in line with developments in unemployment benefits and unemployment, which have been on the increase between the third quarter of 2011 and the end of the first quarter of 2012.
The number of income support benefits paid to people under 27 fell by 3 thousand in the first three months of 2012, reaching 31 thousand. This decrease is due to a change in the law effective as of 1 January 2012. Young people have to look for work for four weeks before they can qualify for income support. The household income test was introduced and abandoned again after the Spring Agreement. And the laws on Work and Income Support and the Act on investing in Youth have been combined.