Higher than expected growth for Dutch economy this year: Planning office

The Dutch economy will grow by 2.4 percent this year and 2 percent next year, central planning office CPB expects in its latest estimation. In the previous estimation in March, the CPB expected 2.1 percent and 1.8 percent growth for 2017 and 2018 respectively, ANP reports.

Unemployment is expected to continue its decline, to 4.9 percent this year and 4.7 percent next year. The government finances also look healthy, with a surplus of 0.5 percent expected for this year and 0,7 percent for next year.

Consumption, investment and exports will be the driving forces behind the economic growth, according to CPB. Households will benefit from higher available income and a slight increase in purchasing power.

The improving economy is not yet fully felt, especially when it comes to wages. Contract wages are expected to increase by only 1.7 percent this year, and 2 percent next year. According to the CPB, the increasingly flexible labor market can partly be blamed for the relatively small increases.

On Monday Dutch central bank DNB also expressed concerns about the fact that wage increases seem to be lagging behind the economic improvement. The bank's estimates are slightly more positive than the CPB's, with 2.5 percent economic growth expected this year.