Dutch people think more negatively about housing, safety and health, study finds

For the second year in a row, Dutch people have become more negative about issues such as housing, social involvement, health, and safety, according to a study by Rabobank. The bank's economists based their findings on a survey of more than 10,000 participants.

The bank also notes that the broad prosperity of Dutch people is not recovering this year, after deteriorating last year. This may be related to persistently high inflation, the ongoing war in Ukraine, and the recession. However, despite the continuation of the war and inflation, perceived broad prosperity has not deteriorated further this year, Rabobank said.

According to Rabobank, incomes have indeed improved "significantly," mainly due to higher collectively agreed wages, the increase in the minimum wage, and the associated state pension. "The incomes of low-income earners have also increased, but this does not lead to a better financial situation. We have not studied this, but it could mean that even the higher incomes do not cover the increased costs," the bank economists argue. The unemployed and low-income earners have fallen back the most.

However, the dimensions of work-life balance, environment, personal development, and subjective well-being appear to be developing positively again in 2023, after a decline in 2022, although these improvements were not statistically significant in the study.