Unemployment rising faster for people with foreign roots

Unemployment is rising faster among people with foreign roots in the Netherlands, according to new figures from national statistics office CBS.

Joblessness among first-generation immigrants rose from 5.8% in 2024 to 6.9% in the first three quarters of this year. Among the second generation, people born in the Netherlands with at least one parent born abroad, it went from 5.3% to 6%.

Among people born in the Netherlands to two Dutch-born parents, the rise was minimal: from 2.9% to 3%. Overall unemployment went up from 3.7% to 4%.

Part of the reason for the gap is that immigrants are generally younger, and young people are more likely to be out of work, the CBS said.

Among 15- to 25-year-olds, 15.3% of first-generation immigrants in the labour force were jobless this year, up from 12.9% in 2024. Among young people of Dutch origin the rate was 7%, roughly the same as two years ago.

The gap is also widening in older age groups. Unemployment among immigrants aged 25 to 45 rose from 5.9% to 6.6%, compared with 2.2% for people of Dutch origin.

The difference between immigrants and the national average had been shrinking until 2022 and then held steady until 2024, before starting to widen again last year.