"The unemployment rate has been on a rising trend for a year," a CBS statement noted, given that it stood at 5.0 percent in June 2011. The rate in May was 6.2 percent, but an additional 6,000 jobseekers were reported since then, bringing the total to 495,000, it added.

When calculated using a method that allows for comparison across the 27-member European Union, Dutch unemployment in May stood at 5.1 percent of the workforce, with only Austria showing a lower rate of 4.1 percent.

The EU average in May was 10.3 percent, a level that rose to 11.1 percent for the 17-nation eurozone, of which both Austria and the Netherlands are also members.