Lockdown beginning to bite in the Netherlands

The coronavirus pandemic lockdown is beginning to bite in the Netherlands where the number of people filing for unemployment benefits soared by 42% in March.

The country, the Eurozone’s fifth largest economy, paid benefits to 37,800 new unemployed in March, an increase of 11,200 from the month before.

The strongest increases were among people who used to work in restaurants and bars and among people under 25 years of age, the Dutch federal employment agency said. on Thursday.

The country’s government ordered all restaurants, bars, museums, sport facilities and other public places in the Netherlands to shut down on March 15 in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. They are to remain shut until at least April 28. To help businesses cope with the economic standstill and to prevent massive layoffs, the Dutch government has said it will cover up to 90% of the wage bill of companies who see a significant decline in sales in the coming months.

More than 85,000 companies have already applied for this support. Despite the help, the number of people who lost their jobs in March jumped almost 10% from the previous month to around 283,000, Statistics Netherlands said.

Read more via NL Times