WILLEMSTAD - The results of the Labor Force Survey conducted by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) in April this year show that the unemployment rate has risen to 21.2 percent.

This is a very significant increase from the last registered unemployment rate of 13.4 percent in September 2018. Even with a declining population, the Central Bureau of Statistics discovered the increase of more than 6,000 unemployed in the last six months. The increase consists of the groups that were previously employed or economically inactive. Economically inactive people are people who do not work and who are not actively looking for work for various reasons.

The working population of a country consists of persons (15 years and older) who are employed or actively looking for work. In September of 2018, CBS registered 70,153 people who belong to the labor force, in contrast to the current size of the labor force, namely 73,097. This change is attributed to the increase in the estimated unemployed population. In the past six months, the unemployed have grown from 9,424 (December 2018) persons to 15,464 (April 2019); this is an increase of 64%.

Unemployment has a direct impact on private households. As the purchasing power of households decreases, this can lead to more unemployment, as companies generate less income. It also has consequences for the government treasury, because lower purchasing power means lower income for the government and therefore an imbalance in the budget.