The Dutch jobless total fell by 9,000 between February and April, compared with the previous three-month period, the national statistics office CBS said on Friday.

It is the first time that the official jobless total has fallen since summer 2008, just before the economic crisis began. By end-April, 437,000 people were registered as unemployed.
The CBS said it is still too early to say if the trend will continue and there are many signs the economy has not yet improved.
The number of people claiming unemployment benefit has also fallen by 9,000 to 309,000, the UWV jobs agency said earlier this week. And the number of people registered with the UWV as looking for work fell by 12,000 to 512,000. This figure includes people who work fewer than 12 hours a week but would like to work more.
The CBS figures include people who are not entitled to social security benefits.