# Migrant unemployment rises to 6.9% in the Netherlands

> Unemployment among people born abroad is rising faster than the national average, new figures from Statistics Netherlands (CBS) show, even though the overall rate has stood at 4.0% since July.

Economy · published 2026-11-13 06:52 · https://nlnow.nl/a/migrant-unemployment-rises-to-6-9-in-the-netherlands/

Unemployment among migrants, people not born in the Netherlands, rose from 6.4% in 2025 to 6.9%, new CBS figures show. The national rate rose by 0.1 percentage point, from 3.9% last year to 4% in the first nine months of 2026. Slightly more than 400,000 people in the Netherlands are unemployed.

In 2024 the migrant rate was 5.8%, CBS says. Among the second generation, people born in the Netherlands with at least one parent born abroad, unemployment went from 5.9% in 2025 to 6% in September 2026. Between 2024 and 2025 it had risen by 0.6 percentage points. Among people without a migration background it rose from 2.9% to 3%.

**Migrant unemployment is rising again after its 2023 low** (%; source: CBS)

- 2013: 13.7
- 2014: 13.3
- 2015: 12.6
- 2016: 11.1
- 2017: 9.5
- 2018: 7.6
- 2019: 7
- 2020: 7.4
- 2021: 7.9
- 2022: 5.8
- 2023: 5.7
- 2024: 5.8
- 2025: 6.4
- 2026: 6.9

The CBS research shows unemployment is highest among migrants without a startkwalificatie, meaning at least a havo, vwo or mbo-2 diploma.

**Overall unemployment has stayed between 3.7% and 4.1% since October 2024** (% of labour force; source: CBS)

- Oct 2024: 3.7
- Nov 2024: 3.7
- Dec 2024: 3.7
- Jan 2025: 3.8
- Feb 2025: 3.8
- Mar 2025: 3.9
- Apr 2025: 3.8
- May 2025: 3.8
- Jun 2025: 3.8
- Jul 2025: 3.8
- Aug 2025: 3.9
- Sep 2025: 4
- Oct 2025: 4
- Nov 2025: 4
- Dec 2025: 4
- Jan 2026: 4
- Feb 2026: 4.1
- Mar 2026: 4
- Apr 2026: 3.9
- May 2026: 3.9
- Jun 2026: 3.8
- Jul 2026: 4
- Aug 2026: 4
- Sep 2026: 4

Seasonally adjusted unemployment among 15 to 75-year-olds was 4.0% of the labour force in September, unchanged from July and August, CBS says.

This week Minister Thierry Aartsen (Work and Participation) proposed giving statushouders, refugees granted a residence permit, more time for the integration course (inburgering) if they work at least four days a week.

## Background

- **CBS (Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek)**: Statistics Netherlands, the independent government body that produces the official statistics on the Dutch economy and society.
- **startkwalificatie**: The starting qualification is the minimum level of education that the Dutch government considers necessary to participate in the labour market and society: a havo or vwo diploma, or an mbo level 2 diploma. Dutch policy aims for every young person to reach this level, and the rules on compulsory education and qualification obligations (kwalificatieplicht) are built around it. People without a startkwalificatie are more likely to face difficulty finding stable work.
- **statushouders**: Statushouders are people who have been granted asylum and hold a residence permit in the Netherlands, so they are legally allowed to live and stay here as refugees. As status holders, they are expected to follow the civic integration process (inburgering), which includes Dutch language courses and a civic integration exam, and to take part in society and the labour market.

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