Unemployment 3.8 percent in May

© ANP / Hans van Rhoon
Unemployment stood at 385 thousand in May 2025. That is 3.8 percent of the labour force, meaning that the unemployment rate was the same as in April. The number of people in unemployment fell slightly, by an average of 2 thousand per month over the past three months. The number of people in paid employment rose, by an average of 7 thousand per month in the same period. Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reports this based on newly released figures. The Employee Insurance Agency (UWV) recorded 187 thousand current unemployment (WW) benefits at the end of May.

In addition to the 385 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 7 thousand per month.



UWV: Number of recipients of unemployment benefit rose slightly in May

At the end of May 2024, the Employee Insurance Agency (UWV) recorded 186.6 thousand current unemployment (WW) benefits, up by 2.4 thousand on April. In May, 27.7 thousand new unemployment benefits were granted and 25.3 thousand benefits were terminated.

UWV: More unemployment benefits across almost all sectors

The number of WW benefits rose in 14 out of 18 sectors. The largest increases were seen in agriculture, forestry and fishing (+7.3 percent), food, beverage and tobacco (+7.0 percent), construction (+5.1 percent), the public sector (4.5 percent), and other commercial services (+3.6 percent).

More people in employment

In May, 9.8 million people aged 15-74 were in employment. That was 73.3 percent of all people in this age group. In recent months, this percentage has increased again, after a decline in the second half of 2024. Despite this increase, the labour force participation rate has not quite returned to its June 2024 peak, when 73.4 percent of people aged 15 to 74 were in employment, but among women it has.

Slightly more people found work than became unemployed

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 May, there were 241 thousand people who had been unemployed three months earlier.

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 slightly lower in May at 234 thousand than the number of unemployed who found work or exited into the nonworking population (241 thousand). As a result, the number of unemployed persons fell slightly by an average of 2 thousand per month over the past three months.

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.

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