For the first time ever in the Netherlands, the number of women claiming unemployment benefit (ww) has outstripped the number of men, the national statistics office CBS says.

In July, 213,000 women were claiming the benefit, a lead of just 1,000 over male claimants, the CBS says. This shows that more men are finding work as the economy picks up than women, the organisation says.

Women are more likely to work in the care industries, where employment levels have been hammered following government reforms.

Two years ago, when the jobless total peaked, 240,000 men were claiming ww benefits, compared with 200,000 women.