No further increase in labour force participation | Statistics Netherlands (CBS)

In March, 371 thousand people were unemployed. The unemployment rate – the number of unemployed compared to the total labour force – stood at 3.6 percent. Unemployment has been hovering around this rate since July 2023.

This means that unemployment remains at a relatively low level and the labour participation rate is still historically high. But labour force participation growth has stagnated in the first months of 2024, in line with the deteriorating economic picture.

Economically inactive population has not shrunk further

In the first months of 2024, approximately 9.8 million people aged 15 to 74 were in paid employment. In addition to the unemployed labour force, 3.2 million people were not in paid employment (economically inactive). These people were not seeking and/or immediately available for work recently and are therefore not counted as part of the labour force. Many of these are retirees and people who are unable to work due to sickness or work incapacity. Since the coronavirus crisis, this group has shrunk from 3.4 million to 3.2 million, but ceased contracting in early 2024.

UWV: Number of unemployment (WW) benefits rose slightly

At the end of March 2024, UWV recorded 174.5 thousand recipients of unemployment benefits. That was 800 thousand more than in the previous month (+0.5 percent). In March, 1.6 thousand new unemployment benefits were granted and 20.8 thousand benefits were terminated.

UWV: Number of unemployment benefits increased mainly in manufacturing

The number of unemployment benefits increased the most in the metal industry, installation and vehicles (+4.4 percent) and other manufacturing (3.9 percent). The same applied to the food and beverage and chemical industries, in which the number of unemployment benefits in both sectors increased by 1.5 percent. A decline was seen in agriculture, landscaping and fisheries (-3.9 percent). There is a strong seasonal pattern in agriculture with less work during the winter months and more from spring onwards.

Reduced employment inflow from outside the labour force

Trends in the number of people in and without employment are the result of underlying flows between those in employment, the unemployed and those who are not part of the labour force. This is visualised in the chart below.

The number of people in paid employment can increase when those without employment find a job. There are also people outside the labour force, such as students school leavers, and people re-entering the labour market who find employment. Recently, fewer people have been moving from economic inactivity to being part of the employed labour force (economically active). Between December 2023 and March 2024, this applied to 182 thousand people.

In addition, more people in employment left the labour market. Between September and December last year, that number was 183 thousand, while in the period from December to March it was 213 thousand. This includes people who retired or young people who left a part-time job and did not seek other employment. Over the past three months, the number of people in employment has decreased slightly by 5 thousand, on balance.

Unemployment rose slightly

Unemployment can increase or decrease due to four different changes in people’s circumstances. Two of these can lead to lower unemployment: when unemployed people find a job, and when they stop seeking employment and leave the labour market.

There are also two changes that can lead to higher unemployment: when people who have lost their job seek employment, and when people who were previously not part of the labour market start seeking employment. If people in these groups do not find work immediately, they become part of the unemployed labour force. Over the past three months, uemployment rose slightly by 3 thousand, on balance.

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 issues its own monthly figures on unemployment benefits. Figures released by UWV do not correspond one-to-one with the labour force indicators. For more details on the different sources, see our technical explanation (Dutch only).