In 2023, collective labour agreement wages in the Netherlands were on average 6.1% higher than in 2022, according to data from Statistics Netherlands. This increase is almost double the development of the previous year, when wages rose by 3.2% over the prior year.

The collective labour agreement wage increase is also the largest in more than forty years, Statistics Netherlands noted.

Meanwhile, In the last quarter of 2023, collective labour agreement wages were 6.9% higher than in the same quarter a year earlier. For two years in a row, the collective labour agreement wage increase has been greater every quarter.

When adjusted for inflation, the real collective labour agreement wage development stood at approximately 2.9% in the fourth quarter of 2023. The real wage development for the whole of 2023 is estimated to be -2.1%.

In 2023, wages increased the most in the government sector, by 7.0% while wages at private companies and subsidised institutions increased by 5.9% and 5.5%, respectively.

By industry, wages increased most in transport and storage in 2023, at 8.4%. This was mainly due to the wage increase in professional freight transport while several collective labour agreements in aviation, ports and parcel delivery also contributed to the increase.