More Dutch people have been out of work for over a year
The number of people in the Netherlands who have been out of a job for more than a year has risen by over 50,000 in the past year.
In total, 289,000 people were classified as long-term unemployed in the first quarter of this year, or around 3% of the total working population. The EU average is just over 5%.
The Dutch unemployment rate in general shows a downward trend and has fallen from 7.4% to 6.9% over the past year, the CBS said earlier this week.
CBS researcher Katja Chkalova told broadcaster Nos the reason for the increase in long-term unemployment is that employers have a wide choice of people to pick from.
‘Half of the long-term jobless are over the age of 45 and have to compete with youngsters, who are usually cheaper,’ she 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