Unemployment in the Netherlands fell in January to 6.5%, according to the national statistics office CBS. In January last year, unemployment figures were higher, at 7.2%.

The CBS said the jobless rate among people aged 25-45 has been declining steadily since January 2014 and unemployment among youngsters, which has been fluctuating, is now around 11%.  There has also been a 0.4 percentage point drop in the jobless rate among the over-45s.

Of the 12.7 million people aged 15 to 75 in the Netherlands, 8.3 million do some form of paid work.  Of these, 4.5 million are men and 3.8 million women.

The new figures do not include the impact of the bankruptcy of department store group V&D where 8,000 people are set to lose their jobs.