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Netherlands — Unemployment
Unemployment Rate for Netherlands, 1991–2025.
Latest value · 2025
3.87%
Unemployment Rate · % of total labor force · -46.8% since 1991
Unemployment for Netherlands was 3.87% in 2025, according to the latest World Bank data. The series covers 35 years, from 1991 to 2025. The highest recorded value was 7.42% in 2014. The lowest was 2.12% in 2001 (about 1.8× the low point). Across that span the compound annual growth rate works out to -1.84% per year.
Netherlands ranks 121 of 187 economies on this measure (1 = highest), putting it in the top 65%. The median for Europe & Central Asia is 5.58%, so Netherlands sits below it. It peaked in 2014 and has fallen 48% since. Over the last decade (2015–2025) the figure moved down 44%.
Key figures
Latest (2025)
3.87%
First (1991)
7.29%
Change
-46.8%
Highest
7.42%
in 2014
Lowest
2.12%
in 2001
Average
4.86%
Annual growth (CAGR)
-1.84%
Years of data
35
Recent years
| Year | % of total labor force |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 3.87% |
| 2024 | 3.7% |
| 2023 | 3.54% |
| 2022 | 3.53% |
| 2021 | 4.21% |
| 2020 | 3.82% |
| 2019 | 3.38% |
| 2018 | 3.83% |
| 2017 | 4.84% |
| 2016 | 6.01% |
| 2015 | 6.87% |
| 2014 | 7.42% |
Reading this correctly. Share of the labor force without work but available for and seeking employment. National definitions differ, so cross-country comparison needs care. Figures are in % of total labor force. Comparing this series with a different measure of the same concept (for example a nominal figure against a purchasing-power-parity figure) will give misleading results.
Related data
Source. World Bank Open Data, indicator
SL.UEM.TOTL.ZS — Unemployment Rate. Data licensed under CC BY 4.0. Values are reproduced as published; this page computes the summary statistics (change, CAGR, extremes) from the underlying annual series. View the original dataset on data.worldbank.org.