More highly educated people are claiming Dutch unemployment benefit, UWV says

The share of people claiming Dutch unemployment benefit who have a university or higher professional education has risen from 30% in 2022 to 38% this year, according to a new report by benefits agency UWV. The agency says the increase reflects both the growing number of highly educated people in the Netherlands and pressure on some professional roles, potentially from artificial intelligence.

UWV points to a rise in the number of highly educated marketing staff receiving unemployment benefit. It also highlights job cuts in sectors employing many IT workers, including banking. Banks have announced thousands of job cuts in recent years, saying they expect AI to take over some tasks.

The figures do not show how much of the increase is due to AI. UWV says the larger share of graduates among claimants is not a solution to what it calls a mismatch in the labour market: employers are short of workers with the skills they need. The agency warns that finding work could become harder for highly educated people as more roles come under pressure.