Average unemployment as a percentage of the working population.
Source: OECD, 2009
Low unemployment
The rate of unemployment in the Netherlands, even during the recent economic
downturn, is one of the lowest in Europe. From
2004 to 2008, an average of approximately 4% of the potential working
population was unemployed, while the corresponding rate in the euro countries
as a whole was more than 8.0%. The economic crisis has led to an increase in
unemployment in the Netherlands
to 4,8% in June 2009, but this is still far below the
average in neighbouring countries.
