No further decline in unemployment in January

More recent figures are available on this topic. View the latest figures here.
© Hollandse Hoogte / Olaf Kraak Fotografie
In January, 360 thousand people aged 15 to 74 years were unemployed. As a result, the unemployment rate rose from 3.5 percent in December to 3.6 percent in January. Statistics Netherlands (CBS) measures the trend in the number of unemployed as an average change over the past three months. From November through January, unemployment still declined slightly by an average of 2 thousand per month. The employed labour force (15 to 74 years) grew by an average of 31 thousand per month in this period. At the end of January, the Employee Insurance Agency (UWV) recorded 154 thousand current unemployment (WW) benefits.

Unemployment and WW unemployment benefits
   Unemployment indicator (ILO) (15 to 74 yrs, seasonally adjusted) (x 1,000)WW unemployment benefits (15 yrs up to state pension age) (x 1,000)
2012January595292
2012February586299
2012March593296
2012April618292
2012May609291
2012June609291
2012July623298
2012August620304
2012September634304
2012October644310
2012November655322
2012December676340
2013January692369
2013February707377
2013March728380
2013April734380
2013May747378
2013June766382
2013July782395
2013August783399
2013September783400
2013October782408
2013November772419
2013December779438
2014January786460
2014February800460
2014March794454
2014April787443
2014May775436
2014June757431
2014July746437
2014August738430
2014September733420
2014October738419
2014November742425
2014December753441
2015January760458
2015February747455
2015March745443
2015April743427
2015May732416
2015June725410
2015July708420
2015August708420
2015September712417
2015October722421
2015November703427
2015December695446
2016January680465
2016February688469
2016March680470
2016April679461
2016May668448
2016June656438
2016July648432
2016August628427
2016September617424
2016October609420
2016November607410
2016December590412
2017January588419
2017February582416
2017March571415
2017April563401
2017May564386
2017June555372
2017July544364
2017August534362
2017September529351
2017October511343
2017November504337
2017December503330
2018January487335
2018February474330
2018March465327
2018April463314
2018May460301
2018June463288
2018July458279
2018August463278
2018September451274
2018October444269
2018November433267
2018December437263
2019January437279
2019February419274
2019March416268
2019April409257
2019May411251
2019June423243
2019July424234
2019August432237
2019September432233
2019October432233
2019November434228
2019December409223
2020January390241
2020February383240
2020March388250
2020April427292
2020May439301
2020June513301
2020July532301
2020August533292
2020September519278
2020October509278
2020November485276
2020December476286
2021January448289
2021February450286
2021March439282
2021April427266
2021May419250
2021June405238
2021July393224
2021August406213
2021September399208
2021October382199
2021November359189
2021December369192
2022January354193
2022February336188
2022March327184
2022April316175
2022May323165
2022June339161
2022July353157
2022August378152
2022September382152
2022October365150
2022November364145
2022December352149
2023January360154

UWV: customary increase in WW benefits in January

At the end of January 2023, UWV provided 154 thousand current unemployment benefits. This is over 5 thousand more than in the previous month (+3.5 percent). An increase at the beginning of the year is customary. In the winter months, there is often less work in construction and agriculture and many contracts expire at the end of the calendar year. The number of WW benefits is still very low. In January, it was down by 20 percent year on year. Twenty-three thousand new WW benefits were granted and 18 thousand benefits were terminated.

Decline in inactive labour force

In January, 3.6 million people aged 15 to 74 years did not have paid work for a variety of reasons. Aside from the unemployed, 3.2 million people were not looking and/or immediately available for work; they are not counted towards the labour force. These are mainly retirees and people unable to work due to illness or disability.

This inactive labour force has dropped by an average of 21 thousand per month over the past three months. This means that the inactive labour force has shrunk significantly for the second year in a row: in January 2021, it still included 3.5 million people. On the other hand, the labour force, i.e. employed plus unemployed people aged 15 to 74 years, grew strongly and includes more than 10 million people since the end of last year. Two years ago, this number still stood at 9.6 million.

Inflow of unemployed from inactive labour force slightly higher

There were 5 thousand fewer unemployed in January than three months previously (a decrease of 2 thousand per month on average). This decline is the result of underlying flows between the active, unemployed and inactive labour force. This is visualised in the diagram below.

The diagram shows that unemployment may decrease not only because more unemployed find a job than employed people lose jobs, but also because more unemployed stop seeking work than people start seeking work.

In recent months, unemployment has declined because the number of people with jobs who became unemployed was lower than the number of unemployed who found a job. In January, this balance stood at 44 thousand, slightly lower compared to the previous month.

In January, the inflow of unemployed from the inactive labour force amounted to 38 thousand, on balance. This is somewhat higher than in the final months of 2022, but still not as high as in the summer months of last year, when the number of unemployed increased. This is because the inflow of jobseekers from the inactive labour force over the past few months was lower than during those summer months and the number of people who stopped seeking work was still slightly higher than it was then.

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 benefits. Figures released by UWV do not correspond one-to-one with the labour force indicators.