Unemployment jumps in Netherlands as pandemic hits young workers

• The unemployment rate rose to 3.4pc in April from a near record low of 2.9pc in March, the CBS said in a statement.
• The number of applicants for unemployment benefits in April rose nearly 17pc versus March and was up 13pc year on year, the CBS said.

AMSTERDAM: Unemployment rose at its fastest pace on record in the Netherlands in April as lockdown measures began to hit the economy with young workers hit hardest, Statistics Netherlands said on Wednesday.

The unemployment rate rose to 3.4pc in April from a near record low of 2.9pc in March, the CBS said in a statement.

The number of applicants for unemployment benefits in April rose nearly 17pc versus March and was up 13pc year on year, the CBS said.

"The number of people with paid work in April fell by 160,000 to 8.9 million," it said.

"A fall of that magnitude has not happened since monthly statistics began to be compiled (in 2003)."

The hardest hit demographic was workers aged 15-25, it said.

The number of cases of the coronavirus rose by 108 to 44,249 on Tuesday, with 21 new deaths. The death toll in the Netherlands stood at 5,715, national health authorities said.