Unemployment down in August
- Youth unemployment down in August
- Upward trend unemployment less steep
- Nearly 400 thousand WW benefits
According to the latest figures released by Statistics Netherlands, seasonally adjusted unemployment fell to 683 thousand in August, i.e. 8.6 percent of the labour force.
Figures published by the Institute for Implementation of Employees’ Insurances show that the number of unemployment (WW) benefits grew by 5 thousand in August to reach 399 thousand.
Upward trend more gradual
Unemployment declined by 11 thousand in August. Young people almost entirely accounted for the decline. Over the past twenty-four months, youth unemployment had risen almost continually. Unemployment continued to rise, but the growth was more gradual than earlier this year. The average monthly increase over the last three months was 8 thousand.
According to the definition used by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), 7.0 percent in the labour force were unemployed in the Netherlands in August; the same rate as in July.
More WW benefits granted to women and over-55s
The number of current WW benefits was 399 thousand in August, 1 percent up from July 2013 and 31 percent up from August 2012. The number of WW benefits granted to women and over-55s grew by more than 2 percent and nearly 2 percent respectively relative to July. The number of WW benefits granted to people employed in the education sector increased sharply in August. This was also the case in July and is a recurrent pattern during the summer period (end of the school year). Unlike in August last year, the number of benefits in the construction sector dropped.
In Augustus, 54 thousand new benefits were granted and 50 thousand were terminated, mostly due to resumption of work.
Source CBS