The unemployment rate in the Netherlands is now higher than that of Germany, reversing the situation which has existed since the fall of the Berlin Wall, according to research by national statistics office CBS.

Calculated according to international standards, the jobless rate in the Netherlands is now 6.4%, compared with 5.4% in Germany, the CBS said. By its own calculations, the Dutch official unemployment rate is now over 8%.

The main reason for the shift is that the German economy continues to grow, while the Netherlands is in recession, the CBS said.

In Europe as a whole, the unemployment rate is over 12% the CBS said.