Unemployment up slightly in August

A total of 408 thousand people were unemployed in August 2026. Unemployment increased by an average of 3 thousand per month over the past three months. The number of people in paid employment fell by an average of 1 thousand per month. Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reports this on the basis of newly released figures. At the end of August, the Employee Insurance Agency (UWV) records included 195 thousand current unemployment (WW) benefits.

The number of unemployed people has been rising slowly since the start of 2023, from 343 thousand in April 2023 to 408 thousand last month. In addition to the 408 thousand unemployed persons, 3.2 million people were not actively seeking work or not immediately available for work in August. 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 fallen by an average of 4 thousand per month. The number of people outside the labour force has remained around 3.2 million since the start of 2023.

While unemployment is rising and the non-working population remains stable, the increase in the number of people employed is levelling off. The number of people employed has been hovering around 9.8 million for almost three years.

Employee Insurance Agency (UWV): increase in recipients of unemployment benefit in August

The UWV recorded 194.8 thousand recipients of unemployment benefit (WW) at the end of August. That was a month-on-month increase of 1.4 percent. A total of 24.2 thousand new people were granted unemployment benefit and 23.6 thousand benefits were terminated.

More people became unemployed than found work

Unemployment can increase or decrease due to four different changes in people’s circumstances. 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 (129 thousand in August) and the second group is made up of people who were previously unavailable for work and decide to seek work (121 thousand in August). If people in these groups do not find work immediately, they become part of the unemployed labour force. In August there were 250 thousand people who were unemployed but had been in work three months earlier, due to these factors.

There are also two groups of people moving in the opposite direction, which can contribute to lower unemployment. The first is when an unemployed person finds a job (142 thousand in August). The second is when an unemployed person stops seeking work and leaves the labour market (99 thousand in August). A total of 241 thousand people were no longer unemployed in August, who had been unemployed three months earlier.

The number of unemployed people has risen by an average of 3 thousand per month over the past three months, because more people became unemployed than found work.