Unemployment virtually unchanged in 2023

More recent figures are available on this topic. View the latest figures here.
© CBS / Alrik Swagerman
Last year, the unemployment rate hardly changed. In December, 3.6 percent of the labour force were unemployed, equivalent to the 2023 average. In Q4, unemployment declined slightly by 3 thousand per month on average, ending at 361 thousand in December. In the same period, the number of people in paid employment grew by 25 thousand per month on average. This is evident from new figures released by Statistics Netherlands (CBS). The Employee Insurance Agency (UWV) recorded 161 thousand current unemployment (WW) benefits as at the end of December.

In December, 3.6 million people aged 15 to 74 did not have paid work for various reasons. Aside from the unemployed, 3.2 million people were not looking and/or immediately available for work recently. These people are not counted towards the labour force. They mainly include retirees and people unable to work due to sickness or work incapacity. Over the past three months, the number of people outside the labour force fell by 9 thousand a month on average.

Unemployment and WW unemployment benefits
JaarMaandUnemployment (15 to 74 yrs, seasonally adjusted) (x 1,000)WW unemployment benefits (15 yrs up to state pension age) (x 1,000)
2017januari588419
2017februari582416
2017maart571415
2017april563401
2017mei564386
2017juni555372
2017juli544364
2017augustus534362
2017september529351
2017oktober511343
2017november504337
2017december503330
2018januari487335
2018februari474330
2018maart465327
2018april463314
2018mei460301
2018juni463288
2018juli458279
2018augustus463278
2018september451274
2018oktober444269
2018november433267
2018december437263
2019januari437279
2019februari419274
2019maart416268
2019april409257
2019mei411251
2019juni423243
2019juli424234
2019augustus432237
2019september432233
2019oktober432233
2019november434228
2019december409223
2020januari390241
2020februari383240
2020maart388250
2020april427292
2020mei439301
2020juni513301
2020juli532301
2020augustus533292
2020september519278
2020oktober509278
2020november485276
2020december476286
2021januari448289
2021februari450286
2021maart439282
2021april427266
2021mei419250
2021juni405238
2021juli393224
2021augustus406213
2021september399208
2021oktober382199
2021november359189
2021december369192
2022januari354193
2022februari336188
2022maart327184
2022april316175
2022mei323165
2022juni339161
2022juli353157
2022augustus378152
2022september382152
2022oktober365150
2022november364145
2022december352149
2023januari360154
2023februari356154
2023maart357158
2023april343156
2023mei353151
2023juni353153
2023juli362152
2023augustus364156
2023september371155
2023oktober361156
2023november357160
2023december361161

Number of unemployment (WW) benefits virtually unchanged in December

In December 2023, UWV issued 160.8 thousand WW benefits, which is almost equal to the number at the end of November (160.2 thousand). In December, 19.9 thousand benefits were terminated, while 20.8 thousand new benefits were granted.
Most sectors saw no substantial changes from last month, while agriculture, landscaping, fisheries (+9.3 percent) and the construction industry (+15.9 percent) saw increases. This partly concerns the usual increase in unemployment due to the disappearance of seasonal work. Relative to November 2023, the number of WW benefits decreased in education in particular (-6.6 percent).

Fewer than 100 thousand unemployed over-45s in 2023

On average over the whole year, unemployment rose slightly from 350 to 359 thousand year on year. The unemployment rate rose from 3.5 to 3.6 percent. It only decreased among people aged 45 and over, from 104 thousand to 92 thousand. Unemployment mainly rose among young people aged 15 to 24 years, from 134 to 149 thousand, and rose slightly among 25 to 44-year-olds.

The net labour participation rate increased to 73.1 in 2023, relative to 72.2 in 2022. The increase was relatively strong among people aged 45 and over and among young people under 25, while the increase was small in the age group of 25 to 34-year-olds.

Inflow and outflow of unemployment virtually balanced

Unemployment trends are the result of underlying flows between the employed, the unemployed and those not in the labour force. This is visualised in the diagram below. The chart below the diagram shows the development of these different flows over the past few months.




Unemployment may increase or decrease due to four different flows. Two of these can lead to lower unemployment. The first flow is when unemployed people find a job. The second flow is when unemployed people stop seeking work and leave the labour market. At 96 thousand in December and November, the outflow from the labour market was at its highest since December 2021.
There are also two flows in the opposite direction which can lead to higher unemployment. They concern employed people who lose their job as well as people who were previously unavailable on the labour market and who started seeking employment. If they do not find work immediately, they become part of the unemployed labour force.

The inflow into unemployment and the outflow from unemployment are more or less balanced. There is slightly more outflow from unemployment than inflow, due to which the number of unemployed declined slightly in November. In December, there were 10 thousand fewer unemployed people than three months previously, bringing unemployment down by over 3 thousand a month on average.
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.

Sources