Unemployment down slightly in March

• In March 2026, 4.0 percent of the workforce was unemployed, compared to 4.1 percent in February.
• Both the number of unemployed people and the number of people receiving unemployment benefit fell slightly.
• The number of people receiving unemployment benefit fell across all labour market regions.

There were 407 thousand unemployed persons in the Netherlands in March. This means that 4.0 percent of the labour force (aged 15 to 74 years) was unemployed. The number of unemployed people has fallen by an average of 1 thousand per month over the last three months. The number of people in paid employment has also increased, by an average of 3 thousand per month over the past three months. Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reports this on the basis of newly released figures. The records of the Employee Insurance Agency (UWV) included 202 thousand current unemployment (WW) benefits at the end of March 2026.

In addition to 407 thousand unemployed persons, 3.2 million people were not actively seeking work or not immediately available for work in February. These people are not counted in the labour force. Many of them are retirees and people who are unable to work due to illness or occupational disability. Over the past three months, the number of people outside the labour force has remained at around the same level.

UWV: decrease in the number of unemployment benefits recorded in March

At the end of March, the Employee Insurance Agency (UWV) recorded 202.1 thousand current recipients of unemployment benefit. That was a slight decrease from February (-1.6 percent). A total of 21.7 thousand new people were granted unemployment benefit and 25.0 thousand benefits were terminated in the month of March. This means that the total number of unemployment benefits remained above 200 thousand, as it did in January and February.

At the end of March, the number of people receiving unemployment benefit was lower than it was in February in almost all of the 35 labour market regions. The only rises were in the regions of Zuid-Limburg (+0.4 percent), Drechsteden (+0.4 percent) and Helmond-De Peel (+0.1 percent). In all other regions, the number of people receiving benefits fell. Compared to February 2026, it fell by the most in the regions of Food Valley (-3.4 percent), Drenthe (-3.3 percent) and Zeeland (-3.2 percent).

More people found work than became unemployed

Unemployment can rise or fall 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 work (152 thousand in March). The second is when an unemployed person stops seeking work and leaves the labour market (105 thousand in March). In March, 257 thousand people were no longer unemployed who had been unemployed three months earlier.

There are also two flows in the opposite direction which can lead to a rise in unemployment. The first happens when an employed person loses their job (124 thousand in March) and the second is when a person who was previously not seeking work decides to seek work (129 thousand in March). If people in these groups do not find work immediately, they become part of the unemployed labour force. In March, 253 thousand people were unemployed who had not been unemployed three months earlier.

Unemployment fell in March both because more unemployed people found a job, and because fewer people who were unavailable for work decided to start looking for work and thus became unemployed.

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.