At the end of 2022, 22 percent of 30 to 65-year-olds with a chronic condition were long-term unemployed. This is higher than the average (16 percent). Especially people with a chronic mental condition have been unemployed for a long time – meaning at least four consecutive years. This is evident from new figures from Statistics Netherlands (CBS) and the Netherlands Institute for Health Services Research (Nivel).

A chronic condition is an ailment that cannot be (fully) cured. This can be physical or mental. More than 55 percent of all 30 to 65-year-olds have one or more chronic conditions. Nearly 3 percent have a chronic mental condition, often alongside a chronic physical condition. These figures come from diagnoses made by general practitioners.

Half long-term unemployed with mental conditions

Among people with a chronic mental condition (such as dementia, schizophrenia, a personality disorder, or an intellectual disability), 50 percent are long-term unemployed. This rises to nearly 60 percent when multiple chronic physical conditions are also present. This is more than twice as high as among people with multiple physical chronic conditions but no mental condition.