The official unemployment rate in the Netherlands fell to 7% in March, with the under-25s in particular benefiting from the improved economic prospects.

The jobless total has now fallen by around 6,000 a month for the past three months, the national statistics office CBS said.

In total, 8.3 million of the 12.7 million Dutch people aged 15 to 75 has a job, the CBS said.

The under-25s have benefited most from the recovery. The jobless rate among 15 to 24-year-olds has fallen by a full percentage point since the start of the year and is now around 10.8%.

The number of people claiming unemployment benefits (ww) went down by 12,000 in March compared with February. Here as well, youngsters were the main beneficiaries but there was also a drop in claims made by the over 50s, the state benefit agency UWV said.

However, there was a sharp rise (13%) in the number of health service workers claiming unemployment benefit in March, the UWV said.