Unemployment rate 3.8 percent in April

© Hollandse Hoogte / Peter Hilz
Unemployment stood at 387 thousand in April 2025. The unemployment rate fell slightly from 3.9 in March to 3.8 in April. The slight decline in April was preceded by increases in the previous three months, when unemployment remained fairly stable. The number of people in paid employment rose slightly, by an average of 3 thousand per month over the past three months. Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reports this based on newly released figures. The Employee Insurance Agency (UWV) recorded 184 thousand current unemployment (WW) benefits at the end of April.

In addition to the 387 thousand people who were unemployed, 3.2 million people were not actively seeking work or not immediately available for work. Many of these are retirees and people who are unable to work due to illness or occupational disability. These people are not counted as part of the labour force. Averaged over the past three months, the number of people outside the labour force has fallen by 4 thousand per month.

UWV: number of recipients of unemployment benefit fell in April

At the end of April, the Employee Insurance Agency (UWV) recorded 184.1 thousand current unemployment (WW) benefits, down by 5.4 thousand from March. In April, 18.4 thousand new unemployment benefits were issued and 23.8 thousand benefits were terminated.

UWV: fewer unemployment benefits across all sectors

The number of WW benefits fell across all sectors. The largest decreases were seen in temporary employment agencies (-6.4 percent), agriculture, forestry and fishing (-5.5 percent), accommodation and food services (-4.6 percent). The sectors in which the number of benefits fell the least were other manufacturing (-0.2 percent), banking and insurance (-0.3 percent), the chemical industry (-1.2 percent) and government (-1.3 percent).

Changes in unemployment are in balance again

Trends in unemployment are the result of underlying movements between those in employment, the unemployed and those who are not part of the labour force. This is visualised in the chart below. The graph below the chart shows the changes in these different flows over the past few years.

 


Unemployment can increase or decrease due to four different changes in people’s circumstances. Two of these can lead to lower unemployment. The first change occurs when an unemployed person finds a job. The second change occurs when an unemployed person stops seeking work and leaves the labour market. In April, there were 235 thousand people who had been unemployed three months earlier. That was 8 percent up on the first three months of 2025.

There are also two changes that can lead to higher unemployment. The first happens when an employed person loses their job and the second when a person who was previously unavailable for work decides to seek employment. If people in these groups do not find work immediately, they become part of the unemployed labour force. The total number of people who became unemployed was lower in April at 236 thousand than in the first three months of 2025. It was almost the same as the number of unemployed who found work or exited into the nonworking population (235 thousand). As a result, the number of unemployed persons rose over the past three months, while the number of people in employment fell.

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 publishes its own monthly figures on unemployment benefit. The figures released by UWV do not correspond directly with the labour force indicators.

Sources

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