The Netherlands’ seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained at 4.0% in August 2026, unchanged from July and still at its highest level in four months. The number of unemployed people rose by 4 thousand from the previous month to 408 thousand, while the number of employed people increased by 6 thousand to 9.827 million.
Over the past three months, unemployment has risen by an average of 3 thousand people per month, whereas employment has declined by an average of 1 thousand people per month. Meanwhile, 3.2 million people were outside the labor force, primarily retirees and individuals unable to work due to illness or disability.
The gross labor force participation rate ticked up to 76.1% from 76.0%, and the net participation rate increased to 73.1% from 73.0%. At the end of August, the number of ongoing unemployment benefits stood at 195 thousand.