The number of officially unemployed people is rising, with more than 8.5 million in the Netherlands currently not in the workforce, according to Statistics Netherlands (CBS). The unemployment rate came in at 4 percent in August, with the number of unemployed people rising by about 3,000 on average over the past three months. In the meantime, the number of employed people stays the same, the statistics office reports. The group of unemployed individuals has been growing since 2023, aided by non-working migrants and an aging population.