Unemployment rising fastest among migrants since 2025
Statistics Netherlands (CBS) calculates that joblessness among migrants has climbed faster since 2025 than among the second generation or people without a migration background, while the national rate has edged up to 4%.
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Illustrative photo: Udo Geisler / CC BY 2.0The share of migrants, people not born in the Netherlands, who are out of work rose from 6.4% in 2025 to 6.9% in the third quarter of 2026, Statistics Netherlands (CBS) calculates.
Among the second generation, people born in the Netherlands with at least one parent born abroad, the rate went from 5.9% to 6.0% over the same period, a much smaller rise. Across the whole labour force, an average of 3.9% of people were unemployed in 2025, against 4% in the third quarter of 2026.
Unemployment has risen most among migrants
% of the labour force
Unemployment has risen most among migrants (% of the labour force). Highest: Migrants, 6.4; lowest: Whole labour force, 3.9; 3 items. Source: CBS.
View data
| Item | 2025 average | Q3 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Migrants | 6.4 | 6.9 |
| Second generation | 5.9 | 6 |
| Whole labour force | 3.9 | 4 |
CBS says migrants and the second generation have long been unemployed more often, on average, than people without a migration background. Since 2025, it says, the gap between migrants and the average has widened.
CBS's monthly figures for the whole labour force, adjusted for the season, show the national rate at 3.7% in October 2024. It reached 4.0% in September 2025 and peaked at 4.1% in February 2026. It then eased to 3.8% in June 2026 before returning to 4.0% in July, August and September.
Source: CBS
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