Even though the Netherlands — along with the rest of the world — has been reeling in a lot of aspects due to coronavirus, one thing has remained relatively stable: unemployment rates.
Unemployment rates in the Netherlands are the lowest they’ve ever been since 2003, reports the NOS.
According to Statistics Netherlands (CBS), the month of November saw 26,000 fewer unemployed than the month before. The unemployment rate that month was 2.9% — this is a record-low for the lowlands. Seems that Dutchies are all about them jobs! 👔
Apparently, even in the midst of a pandemic, there is always a work from home opportunity or an in-person job somewhere in the Netherlands. Jeej!
Unemployment at the beginning of coronavirus
Last month, there were only 251,000 unemployed people in the Netherlands. Now, there are 277,000 people who are unemployed.
This is a stark contrast to when the pandemic first broke out in early 2020 and when the number climbed up to 426,000!
Luckily just a few months later, in August 2020, more people found work and the unemployment numbers plummeted. 🥂 A year later, in August 2021, there were more vacancies than unemployed people. Echt?!
Furthermore, unemployment benefits were not used as often as they were in previous years. Fewer people received those benefits, especially in the catering and retail industries.
Vacancies outweigh unemployed people
It’s true — employers are desperately seeking staff members as the number of vacancies hits record numbers early this week. On top of that, Statistics Netherlands found that thousands of Dutch people want to work more hours. 🔨
The Dutch government had ambitious plans to employ more teachers, build 10,000 homes a year, and implement free childcare, reports the NOS. Yet, there are still 126 vacancies for every 100 people who are employed. 😱
According to Ton Wilthagen, a Tilburg labour market professor, there weren’t enough people with the “right qualifications” to fill these positions. Wild!
Combating the worker shortage
The Netherlands finally also reached a coalition agreement and of the things agreed upon was a set of measures to combat the shortage of workers. One of the measures is to invite suitable migrant workers from outside of the EU to fill up the available positions.
“The new government said there: we are no longer going to wait for someone to come to the Netherlands, but we are going to invite suitable people from outside the European Union to come and work here,” says Dutch economist Mattijs Bouman.
Unemployment to rise slightly
However, next month, the unemployment rate will be significantly higher because Statistics Netherlands is switching to a new European system which will count more paid workers as well as unemployed persons. For example, paid internships and part-time jobs will now also count as paid work.
Additionally, most of the government support given to businesses ended in October. Economists believe that this will cause a rise in unemployment rates fairly soon, as a lot of companies will struggle and potentially close without support.
So hey, if you’re thinking of working in the Netherlands, it’s probably een heel goede idee (a very good idea)! But do it soon! ☺️
What do you think about the low unemployment rate in the Netherlands? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!
Image: SHipskyy/Depositphotos