Jobless benefit claims in urban belt almost doubled since 2008

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.

Thank you for donating to DutchNews.nl.

We could not provide the Dutch News service, and keep it free of charge, without the generous support of our readers. Your donations allow us to report on issues you tell us matter, and provide you with a summary of the most important Dutch news each day.

Make a donation