Some 9.1 million people in the Netherlands are currently in paid work, with their number rising by some 22,000 a month over the past three months, national statistics office CBS said on Thursday.

The drop in unemployment takes the Dutch jobless figure to 3.1%, after reaching 4.6% at the height of the coronavirus crisis.

At the same time, the number of people claiming unemployment benefits has gone down 2.2% to 207,900 with the sharpest drop – 12.3% – among people who worked in the hospitality industry. The culture, cleaning and retail sectors also all reported significant reductions. More youngsters are also in work, the CBS said.

The CBS also said on Thursday that consumer spending rose by almost 6% in August, when compared with last summer, and 3.4% when measured against August 2019.

Spending was up nearly 10% on services, such as tickets for events, the hairdresser and a restaurant visit, as the Netherlands removed more of its coronavirus reduction measures

Despite this, by October consumers have become more pessimistic about the future, with the consumer confidence index slumping from -5 to -10, when compared with September, the CBS said.

In particular, consumers are worried about the general economic climate and rising prices, the CBS said.