Dutch non-seasonally adjusted unemployment remained at 5.5 percent of the workforce, or an average of 416,000 in October-December the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) said on Tuesday.
The number of unemployed, however, rose slightly from 412,000 in September-November, a change too small to appear in percentage terms.
The increase in the number of unemployed confirmed analysts' expectations of a continued rise this year, as the country's export oriented-economy continued to suffer from the global economic slowdown and effects of the strong euro.
The number of jobless in October-December 2003 rose by 100,000 from the same period in 2002, the CBS said.
"Unemployment is always lower in the last quarter of the year. This has affected both men and women. In 2003, 6.1 percent of the female workforce was unemployed, while it was 4.7 percent for men," the CBS said in a statement.
Seasonally-adjusted October-December unemployment rose, however, to 5.7 percent of the workforce or an average of 431,000 unemployed people versus 5.6 percent or 423,000 in September-November, the CBS said.
Dutch unemployment, which was at an unadjusted 4.2 percent in October-December 2002, has gradually climbed as companies such as Philips electronics, telecom operator KPN and non-food retailer Vendex KBB have been cutting thousands of jobs.
Economists have said they expect the number of jobless will continue to rise in 2004 and the Dutch government sees unemployment climbing to seven percent in 2004 from an estimated 5.5 percent in 2003.
In 2002, 3.9 percent of the workforce was without a job.
Last month, the Central Bank said it expected the Dutch economy to have contracted by 0.8 percent in 2003. It expected a 0.7 percent increase in 2004 and two percent growth in 2005.