Jobless benefit claims in urban belt almost doubled since 2008
Monday 04 February 2013
The number of people claiming unemployment benefit in the Randstad - the central urban belt spanning Rotterdam, Utrecht and Amsterdam - has doubled since the start of the financial crisis in 2008.
The national statistics office CBS said on Monday, jobless benefit claims in the Randstad region were up 90% over the past five years. In the Netherlands as a whole, the increase is 77%.
By the end of last year, 277,000 people were claiming unemployment benefit (WW), or 25 in 1,000 working-age adults.
The number of people in the Netherlands receiving welfare (bijstand) benefits at the end of last year reached 373,000, or 34 in every 1,000 adults.
A further 782,000 people live on some form of incapacity benefits (WAO or WIA). That is down marginally on five years ago, the CBS said.
© DutchNews.nl
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Its amazing how the Netherlands went from one of the lowest unemployment numbers to this.
By Concerned Canadian | 6 February 2013 5:10 AMTo what, Concerned Canadian? The unemployment number is still one of the lowest in the EU.
By pepe | 7 February 2013 4:17 PM