Unemployment rate at its most stable since 1988

© ANP / Peter Hilz
In 2024, 3.7 percent of the labour force aged 15 to 74 years was unemployed. In 2023 the figure was 3.6 percent, and in 2022 it was 3.5 percent. The last time that unemployment changed so little over two consecutive years was in 1988. At that time, though, unemployment was much higher at 8.3 percent. The number of job vacancies remained at a historically high level in 2024, but there was a slight fall for the second consecutive year. Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reports this based on the latest figures and a recalculation of unemployment and job vacancy rates going back to 1945.

This historical overview of unemployment and job vacancies was created to mark the 125th anniversary of CBS. Until the mid-1970s, unemployment was comparatively low, between 0.4 and 3.5 percent of the labour force. It then increased gradually, until peaking at 9.6 percent in 1984. After that, the percentage of unemployment people went through several peaks and troughs. Between 2014 and 2022, unemployment was on a mainly downward trajectory, only jumping higher in 2020 at the start of the coronavirus pandemic. That downward trajectory came to an end in 2023 and 2024, as unemployment began to increase very slightly.

Vacancies down slightly for second consecutive year

There were 404 thousand unfilled jobs in 2024, one of the highest totals ever. Even so, the number of vacancies fell by 5 percent per year for two consecutive years. The last time that the number of vacancies declined for two consecutive years at about the same rate was in 2013. The recent decline was larger in relative terms, however, as there are now about four times as many vacancies as in 2013.

In 1983, the number of unfilled jobs was the lowest since the beginning of the post-World War II data series. Since then, the number has fluctuated, but the broad trend has been upwards. In 2021, there were more than 300 thousand unfilled jobs for the first time, and in 2022 the 400 thousand mark was also surpassed.

Number of vacancies in public administration and health care still increasing

Although the total number of unfilled vacancies fell slightly between 2022 and 2024, the number of vacancies in public administration and health care increased. In fact, compared to the situation prior to the coronavirus pandemic in 2019, the number of vacancies in these sectors has doubled. The number of vacancies in the construction sector also continued to increase in 2024. The sharpest falls in the number of vacancies were in trade, business services and the hospitality sector.

Tightest labour market conditions since early 1970s

Between 2022 and 2024, the number of vacancies declined by 40 thousand, while the number of unemployed people increased by 22 thousand. As such, labour market tightness (the number of unfilled jobs per 100 unemployed persons) has eased slightly, but at 109 vacancies per 100 unemployed in 2024, it remains relatively high. Over the past 50 years the labour market has never been as tight as it is today, but between World War II and the early 1970s the situation in the labour market was even tighter. Unemployment was very low then, and an increase in unfilled jobs led to a situation where there were nearly 1,000 vacancies per 100 unemployed persons in the early 1960s.

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