The number of young people claiming unemployment benefits fell 10% in the first six months of the year, according to figures released on Tuesday by the benefit agency UWV.

The biggest fall in new applications was -27% in the Gooi and Vecht area south of Amsterdam. The smallest fall was in Noord-Limburg with -1%.

At the end of March, nearly 30,000 people up to the age of 27 were on unemployment benefits, 4,000 fewer than in the same period of 2014, the UWV said.

The construction and teaching sectors saw the biggest reduction in benefit claimants, while numbers are still rising in the transport and storage sectors.