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Dutch collective labour agreement wages rise 6.8% in Q3

Dutch collective labour agreement wages rise 6.8% in Q3

Felicity Glover
| October 9, 2024
Card Index with Wages. 3D.

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Collective labour agreement wages in the Netherlands continued to rise in the third quarter of 2024, up 6.8% compared with the same period last year, according to new data from Statistics Netherlands.

The 6.8% increase matches the final-quarter figure of 2023, when growth in collective wages reached a 40-year high, Statistics Netherlands said in a statement on its website.

With a workforce of 9.73 million people, collective labour agreements cover three quarters of the country’s workers.

Wages in the country’s private sector grew the fastest in the third quarter of 2024 at 7.3%. This was followed by semi-public sector (7.1%) and the public sector (5.4%).

However, when adjusted for inflation, real collective wage growth stood at 3.1% in the third quarter.

“This increase was less than in the previous three quarters but still higher than a year ago, when real collective wage growth declined by 1.4%,” Statistics Netherlands said.

The change in consumer prices — calculated using the energy prices currently paid by households — is used to determine the level of real wage growth, it added.

The annual inflation rate in the Netherlands eased to 3.5% last month, down from 3.6% in August, according to estimates by Trading Economics.

By industry, wages increased the most in real estate at 12.4%, while the accommodation and food services sector was among the top risers in the third quarter at 10.8%.

Statistics Netherlands said education wages grew a modest 2.1% compared with 10% in the second quarter.

“This is primarily because the most recent wage increases in the two largest collective labour agreements in education (primary and secondary education) were seen in Q3 2023,” it said.