The number of people applying to university or joining the armed forces has gone up sharply since the economic crisis, figures published on Monday show.

This year, some 56,000 potential students have registered with the country’s university authorities. Last year, there were 45,000 registrations but only 38,687 people went on to become students.
The NRC says the increase is likely to cause considerable financial and organisational problems for universities, whose funding is based on the number of students in 2007. Universities have called on education minister Ronald Plasterk to take action to cope with the increase, the paper says.
The number of students applying for hbo colleges is also up 18%.
Armed forces
The armed forces are also benefiting from the recession, the paper says. Applications to join the army, navy and airforce have risen from just over 7,300 in the first six months of last year to just over 13,300 in 2009.
‘The crisis has had an effect but so have our new advertising campaigns,’ a spokesman told the paper. ‘And we are doing more at schools and events.’
The defence ministry has taken a number of steps recently to boost recruitment, such as exempting soldiers with young children from overseas service and boosting childcare facilities.