Unemployment is rising faster among migrants in the Netherlands
Unemployment among people born abroad rose from 5.8 percent in 2024 to 6.9 percent in the first three quarters of 2026, Statistics Netherlands says. Young migrants are hit hardest.
Unemployment in the Netherlands has been rising faster among migrants than on average since 2025, Statistics Netherlands (CBS) said on Wednesday. The gap is widest among young people.
The figures
Among migrants, meaning people born abroad, the unemployment rate rose from 5.8 percent in 2024 to 6.9 percent in the first three quarters of 2026. Among the second generation, people born in the Netherlands with one or two parents born abroad, it went from 5.3 to 6.0 percent.
For people of Dutch origin, born in the Netherlands to two parents who were also born here, the rise was smallest: from 2.9 to 3.0 percent.
Young migrants hit hardest
Among migrants between 15 and 25 years old, unemployment rose from 12.9 percent in 2024 to 14.8 percent in 2025, and to 15.3 percent in the first three quarters of 2026. Among young people of Dutch origin, it fell from 7.2 to 6.9 percent between 2024 and 2025 and rose a little again in 2026.
CBS says the higher unemployment among migrants is partly linked to age. Migrants are generally younger, and young people are more often unemployed. For people from 25 up to the state pension age, the gap between migrants and the average also grew slightly from 2025.
The figures come from the Integration and Society Report 2026 and new CBS figures on unemployment and origin.
