Dutch salaries rise 1.4% in Q4, regional and sectoral trends highlighted
Median salaries in the Netherlands increased by 1.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2024, reaching 3,350 euros per month, according to the latest wage index from Van Spaendonck. The data is derived from over 1.2 million anonymized monthly payslips from 145,000 Dutch businesses.
Wage growth throughout 2024 showed a significant upward trend. Median monthly salaries increased by 6.3 percent compared to the previous year. Over a six-year period, wages rose by more than 25 percent, slightly outpacing the cumulative inflation rate of 24 percent.
The report highlighted stark disparities between employees covered by collective labor agreements (CAOs) and those who are not. Workers outside CAOs earned a median salary of 3,750 euros, significantly higher than the 3,241 euros earned by their unionized counterparts. Nearly half of all Dutch workers do not fall under a CAO.
Regional wage trends showed notable variation. In Zeeland, median salaries rose sharply by 3.7 percent in the fourth quarter. This increase was attributed to the end of seasonal work, which typically skews salary averages downward earlier in the year. Key collective agreements in this region, such as those for Open Teelten (arable farming) and Uitzendkrachten ABU (temporary workers), contributed to the fluctuations.
The data underscores the influence of seasonal employment on regional salary averages. "It’s remarkable how much seasonal work impacts the average salary in a province," Van Spaendonck noted.
Utrecht once again topped the list for highest regional salaries, with a median of 3,556 euros per month. This figure is 15.6 percent higher than Zeeland’s median salary, which remains among the lowest in the country.
Temporary workers under the Uitzendkrachten ABU collective agreement experienced the largest wage growth in Q4, with salaries increasing by 6.2 percent. Workers in maritime transport and rail infrastructure also saw substantial gains, with salaries rising by 5.5 percent and 4.5 percent, respectively.
At the job level, supervisors recorded the highest salary increases, with a 7.5 percent rise. Social psychiatric nurses and childcare workers followed, with salary growth of 4.0 percent and 3.9 percent, respectively.
