Unemployment, male (% of male labor force) (national estimate) in Netherlands
Netherlands: Unemployment, male (% of male labor force) (national estimate) was 3.7% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Unemployment, male (% of male labor force) in Netherlands, 1975–2025
Source: Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO).
Analysis
In 2025, unemployment, male (% of male labor force) in Netherlands stood at 3.7%.
That represents a change of up 7.3% on the previous year and down 43.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, unemployment, male (% of male labor force) in Netherlands peaked at 13.0% in 1986 and was at its lowest, 1.8%, in 2001.
That places Netherlands 117th out of 181 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 48 years of available data.
Unemployment, male (% of male labor force) (national estimate) in Netherlands, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | 4.6% | — |
| 1977 | 4.7% | +1.9% |
| 1979 | 4.4% | -5.7% |
| 1980 | 6.9% | +55.1% |
| 1981 | 6.3% | -8.4% |
| 1982 | 11.2% | +77.9% |
| 1983 | 10.9% | -2.6% |
| 1985 | 9.5% | -13.1% |
| 1986 | 13.0% | +37.1% |
| 1987 | 7.4% | -42.6% |
| 1988 | 7.3% | -1.2% |
| 1989 | 6.8% | -7.9% |
| 1990 | 5.6% | -17.2% |
| 1991 | 5.6% | -0.5% |
| 1992 | 4.0% | -27.5% |
| 1993 | 5.3% | +31.9% |
| 1994 | 6.5% | +22.7% |
| 1995 | 6.1% | -6.7% |
| 1996 | 5.2% | -14.6% |
| 1997 | 4.3% | -16.9% |
| 1998 | 3.4% | -22.3% |
| 1999 | 2.7% | -19.8% |
| 2000 | 2.2% | -19.6% |
| 2001 | 1.8% | -16.2% |
| 2002 | 2.3% | +26.5% |
| 2003 | 3.4% | +49.6% |
| 2004 | 4.3% | +26.1% |
| 2005 | 5.0% | +16.3% |
| 2006 | 4.1% | -19.2% |
| 2007 | 3.3% | -19.2% |
| 2008 | 3.0% | -9.5% |
| 2009 | 3.9% | +30.1% |
| 2010 | 4.5% | +16.6% |
| 2011 | 4.6% | +1.8% |
| 2012 | 5.5% | +18.9% |
| 2013 | 7.2% | +31.4% |
| 2014 | 7.1% | -0.7% |
| 2015 | 6.5% | -8.6% |
| 2016 | 5.6% | -14.5% |
| 2017 | 4.5% | -19.8% |
| 2018 | 3.7% | -16.8% |
| 2019 | 3.4% | -8.7% |
| 2020 | 3.7% | +8.9% |
| 2021 | 3.9% | +6.6% |
| 2022 | 3.3% | -17.2% |
| 2023 | 3.3% | +2.4% |
| 2024 | 3.5% | +3.5% |
| 2025 | 3.7% | +7.3% |
Netherlands compared with similar countries
- Netherlands's 3.7% is below the median for high income countries, which is 4.8%, 77% of the median. (75 countries reporting)
- Netherlands's 3.7% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 5.4%, 69% of the median. (53 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 4.6% | 4.4% | 4.7% | 3 |
| 1980s | 8.8% | 6.3% | 13.0% | 9 |
| 1990s | 4.9% | 2.7% | 6.5% | 10 |
| 2000s | 3.3% | 1.8% | 5.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 5.3% | 3.4% | 7.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.6% | 3.3% | 3.9% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Netherlands
More work & labour data for Netherlands
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 5,256 (2027)
- Labour force participation rate (ILO modelled estimates) 66.71 (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 10,535 (2027)
- Unemployment rate (ILO modelled estimates) 4.03 (2027)
- Labour dependency ratio 0.834 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2021 international $ at PPP 130,584 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2015 US $ 94,797 (2027)
- Employment-to-population ratio (ILO modelled estimates) 64.03 (2027)
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+) 1.4 % change on previous year (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+), annual growth rate 0.1112 % change on previous year (2027)
Frequently asked questions
- What is unemployment, male (% of male labor force) in Netherlands?
- Unemployment, male (% of male labor force) in Netherlands was 3.7% in 2025, according to Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO).
- What is the highest unemployment, male (% of male labor force) recorded in Netherlands?
- The highest recorded value was 13.0% in 1986.
- What is the lowest unemployment, male (% of male labor force) recorded in Netherlands?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.8% in 2001.
- How does Netherlands rank for unemployment, male (% of male labor force)?
- Netherlands ranks 117th out of 181 countries with data for 2025.
- Is unemployment, male (% of male labor force) rising or falling in Netherlands?
- Over the last ten years it is down 43.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Netherlands data come from?
- The figures come from Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO), published as part of Unemployment, male (% of male labor force) (national estimate). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 48 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Unemployment refers to the share of the labor force that is without work but available for and seeking employment. Definitions of labor force and unemployment differ by country.