Unemployment remained virtually unchanged in December

© CBS
There were 410 thousand unemployed persons in December 2025. Just as in the previous three months, 4.0 percent of the labour force aged 15 to 74 years were unemployed. The number of unemployed persons and the number of people employed has remained the same over the past three months, on average. Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reports this on the basis of newly released figures. The Employee Insurance Agency (UWV) records included 191 thousand current unemployment (WW) benefits at the end of December.

Unemployment has risen only slightly or not at all over the past three months, except among young people. Among the total of 410 thousand unemployed persons, 165 thousand were aged between 15 and 25. In addition, 3.2 million people were not actively seeking work or not immediately available for work in December. These people are not counted towards the labour force. Many of these are retirees and people who are unable to work due to illness or occupational disability. Averaged over the past three months, the number of people outside the labour force has risen by an average of 9 thousand per month.

 

UWV: number of unemployment benefits recorded down by 1.4 percent in December

At the end of October 2025, the Employee Insurance Agency (UWV) recorded 191.5 thousand current unemployment (WW) benefits, 2.6 thousand fewer (-1.4 percent) than in November. In December, 20.2 thousand new people were granted unemployment benefit and 22.8 benefits were terminated. The number of benefits recorded fell in almost all sectors, except for construction (+7.6 percent), agriculture, forestry and fishing (+6.9 percent) and temporary employment agencies (+5.2 percent). There is usually less work in these sectors during the winter season. However, the number of benefits recorded in the cleaning sector remained virtually unchanged.

The number of unemployment benefits recorded in December was 16.6 thousand (+9.5 percent), year on year. Unemployment benefits were added in all sectors. The largest increases were seen in the public sector (up by 25.6 percent), other manufacturing (up by 23.5 percent) and in agriculture, forestry and fishing (up by 23.4 percent).

Number of people who became unemployed remained virtually unchanged from the number who found work

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 (152 thousand in December). The second is when an unemployed person stops seeking work and leaves the labour market (104 thousand in December). In December, there were 256 thousand people who had been unemployed three months earlier.



There are also two opposite flows, which can increase unemployment. The first happens when an employed person loses their job (121 thousand in December) and the second when a person who was previously unavailable for work decides to seek employment (136 thousand in December). 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 December was 257 thousand.


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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