The average hourly rate charged by freelancers (known as zzp’ers in the Netherlands) remained flat at €43 in 2017, according to research from freelancer site Hoofdkraan.

Broken down by industry, those in the Marketing and Communications saw a decline of 5%, while management and organisation (-2%), finance and administration (-2%) and text and translation (-4%) also saw decreases. The Analysis and advice industry saw the biggest increase in its hourly rate at 11% compared to last year.

The research also showed that, among the provinces, Groningen is the best place to be a freelancer as fees there have risen 23% since 2014. Among the big four cities (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrecht and The Hague), Rotterdam was the best paying, with average freelance tariffs of €45 an hour.

Earlier this year, separate research from the ZZP Barometer, showed that two out of three freelancers in the Netherlands expected 2017 to be a better year with more jobs and increased pay than last year.