Unemployment rose among both the native Dutch population and people in the Netherlands with a foreign background in 2002. One in ten people in the Netherlands with a non-western foreign background are unemployed. Just as in 2001, people in this category are three times as likely to be unemployed as native Dutch people.
Unemployment among 15-64 year-olds by ethnic background
Unemployment rising for native Dutch and foreigners
Unemployment was higher in 2002 than in 2001 for both native Dutch people and people with a foreign background. For people with a non-western background unemployment rose from 9 to 10 percent. For native Dutch people it rose by half of a percent point to just over three percent. This means that just as in 2001, in 2002 people in the Netherlands with a non-western background were more than three times as likely to be unemployed as a native Dutch person.
Unemployment for non-westerners no longer decreasing
Unemployment started to decrease in the mid-nineties. It fell particularly sharply in the group of people with a non-western background: while more than 20 percent were unemployed in 1996, this had fallen to 9 percent in 2001. In 2002 they are back at the level of 2000, putting an end to the decreasing trend in unemployment among foreigners.
Unemployment among non-western foreigners
aged 15-64 years
Smaller differences in unemployment
The differences between unemployment rates of the various ethnic groups in the Netherlands were smaller in 2002 than in 2001. Unemployment among Moroccans, who used to have the highest rates of unemployment did not rise, while that among Surinamese, who used to have the lowest rates, did increase.
Unemployment among 15-64 year-olds by ethnic background and sex, 2002
Just as many non-western men as women unemployed
Unemployment was lower among men than among women. A native Dutch woman is one and a half times as likely to be out of a job as her male peer. For non-westerners unemployment is about equal for the sexes: one in ten non-western men and women were unemployed in 2002.