The Dutch unemployment rate fell for the second month in a row in June as more people found paid employment, the national statistics office CBS said on Thursday.

The removal of 16,000 people from the jobless register took the unemployment rate down to 8.4%, the CBS said. The number of people claiming unemployment benefit (ww) also fell by 5,000 to 431,000.

In May the jobless total fell by 14,000.

Employment minister Lodewijk Asscher said in a reaction that finding work for those still claiming benefits is ‘an absolute top priority’ for the cabinet.