Unemployment rate up to 4.0 percent in September

In addition to the 409 thousand people who were unemployed, 3.2 million people were not actively seeking work or not immediately available for work in September. 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 an average of 9 thousand per month. The number of people in paid employment rose, by an average of 4 thousand per month.

UWV: number of recipients of unemployment benefit remained almost the same as in August

At the end of September 2025, the Employee Insurance Agency (UWV) recorded 187.4 thousand current unemployment (WW) benefits. As a result, the number remained almost the same as in August. In September, 19.9 thousand new people were granted unemployment benefit and 19.9 thousand benefits were terminated.

Relative to one year previously, the number of recipients of unemployment benefit rose by 15.1 thousand (+8.8 percent). Unemployment benefits were added in all sectors, with the exception of temporary employment agencies. The number of recipients of unemployment benefit fell by 2.4 percent in this sector. The largest increases were seen in the public sector (up by 24.2 percent) and other manufacturing (up by 1.8 percent).

Unemployment rose among people aged 25 or older

Compared to a year ago, unemployment was especially higher among people aged 25 or older. In September 2025, 3.4 percent of people aged 25 to 44 were unemployed, compared to 3.1 percent in the previous year. The unemployment rate among people aged 45 or older increased from 2.1 to 2.6 percent in the same period. Among young people aged 15 to 24, the unemployment rate declined over the same period: from 9.0 to 8.8 percent of the labour force.

Mainly more people became unemployed

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 is when an unemployed person finds a job. The second is when an unemployed person stops seeking work and leaves the labour market. In September, there were (rounded) 236 thousand people who had been unemployed three months earlier. As a result, the number of people who found a job was slightly higher than in August (232 thousand).

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 in September was (rounded) 260 thousand. As a result, the number of people who became unemployed was higher than in August (248 thousand). Over the past three months, there has been an increase in the number of people who lost their jobs and the number of people who started seeking work from the nonworking population, and who did not find work immediately.

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.