The Netherlands now has more unemployed people than job vacancies

The number of unemployed people in the Netherlands has surpassed the number of available jobs for the first time in four years, according to new figures from Statistics Netherlands (CBS). This follows after the Netherlands saw the highest level of unemployment in September.

Unemployment rises while Dutch job vacancies decline

During the months of July, August and September this year, the number of unemployed people rose by 13.000 to a total of 399.000, while the number of vacancies dropped by 2.000 to 387.000. 84 percent of those without jobs have been unemployed for less than a year.

Because most vacancies in the Netherlands are filled relatively quickly and a similar number of jobs become available, the number of vacancies remains relatively stable month to month. Despite this, the overall number of vacancies has been declining almost every quarter for three years, with more than half of available jobs being in trade, healthcare and business services. 

"Think of shop assistants, nurses, and people working for all sorts of companies," chief CBS economist Peter Hein van Mulligen told NOS. "The shortage is also significant in construction. There's high demand for plumbers and bricklayers, for example."

More people entering job market in the Netherlands

Many might think that unemployment in the Netherlands is rising mainly because people are losing their jobs, but according to Van Mulligen, this isn’t necessarily the case. "Unemployment has risen in recent months, but mainly because more people have started looking for work," he explains.

This group includes people who have previously been on benefits, first-time job seekers and even retirees who are returning to work. "So the rise in unemployment isn't just due to people who have lost their jobs," said Van Mulligen.

The number of part-time employees who want to increase their working hours is also on the rise. Just under 50 percent of the 9,8 million employed people in the Netherlands work part-time, or less than 36 hours per week. 

541.000 of these workers are looking to up their hours - 37.000 more than at the end of 2024. "If part-timers were to work more, that would alleviate labour market shortages," says Van Mulligen. However, this alone is not likely to solve worker shortages in certain key sectors.