Unemployment declined in June

These are the most recent figures on this topic. View the previous figures here.
© ANP / Peter Hilz
  • Unemployment stood at 3.8 percent in June 2026.
  • Both the number of unemployed persons and of people in work has fallen over the past three months.
  • More people stopped working and left the labour market permanently or temporarily.

A total of 393 thousand people unemployed in June. Unemployment decreased by an average of 5 thousand per month over the past three months. The number of people in paid employment fell by an average of 6 thousand per month. Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reports this on the basis of newly released figures. At the end of June, the Employee Insurance Agency (UWV) records included 197 thousand current recipients of unemployment (WW) benefit.

In addition to the 393 thousand unemployed persons, 3.2 million people were not actively seeking work or not immediately available for work in June. These people are not counted as part of the labour force. Many of them are retirees or are unable to work due to illness or occupational disability. Averaged over the past three months, the number of people who are not part of the labour force has risen by an average of 8 thousand per month.

UWV: decrease in the number of recipients of unemployment benefit

At the end of June, the UWV recorded 196.9 thousand recipients of unemployment (WW) benefit. This put the total number of recipients lower than in May (down by 1.2 percent). A total of 20.6 thousand new people were granted unemployment benefit and 23.1 thousand benefits were terminated in June. The number of unemployment benefits fell across all sectors. The decline was the most significant in the construction sector (-8.8 percent), the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector (-7.2 percent), and among temporary agencies (-4.8 percent). In these sectors, the number of recipients of unemployment benefit usually falls from spring onwards because there are more seasonal jobs available.

More people found work than 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 (149 thousand in June). The second is when an unemployed person stops seeking work and leaves the labour market (100 thousand in June). A total of 249 thousand people were no longer unemployed in June, who had been unemployed three months earlier.



There are also two groups of people moving in the opposite direction, which can contribute to higher unemployment. The first group is made up of employed people who lose their job (123 thousand in June) and the second group is made up of people who were previously unavailable for work and decide to seek work (112 thousand in June). If people in these groups do not find work immediately, they become part of the unemployed labour force. In June there were 235 thousand people who were unemployed but had been in work three months earlier, due to these factors. The number of unemployed people has fallen by an average of 5 thousand per month over the past three months, because more people found work than became unemployed.

More people stopped working and left the labour market

The number of people in work fell in May and June, mainly because more people stopped working and left the labour market permanently or temporarily. They are not unemployed, because they are not available at short notice and are not actively seeking work.


Every month, CBS publishes figures on the labour force in accordance with guidelines of the International Labour Organization (ILO). The indicators described (employed labour force and unemployed labour force) are used around the world to describe cyclical developments on the labour market. In addition, the Employee Insurance Agency (UWV) publishes its own monthly figures on the number of recipients of unemployment benefit. The figures released by UWV do not correspond precisely with the labour force indicators.

Sources

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