Collective wages increased 4.5% in first quarter of 2026, outpacing inflation

Dutch collective labor agreement (CLA) wages rose by 4.5 percent in the first quarter of 2026 compared to a year earlier, outpacing inflation by about 2 percent, Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reported. Three-quarters of Dutch employees are covered by a CLA.

Wage trends have been slowing since the third quarter of 2024. At that time, wages rose by 6.8 percent as trade unions pushed for salary hikes to compensate for the high inflation caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. In all of 2025, wages increased by 5 percent.

Despite the slower increase, real wage development is positive for the tenth consecutive quarter. Adjusted for inflation, wages were 2 percent higher in the first months of this year.

Employees in the private sector saw the largest wage increase in the first quarter. Here, wages rose by 4.9 percent on average. Public sector employees received an average wage bump of 3.4 percent.

Wages rose fastest for employees of housing corporations, by 8.1 percent. A year earlier, wages in this sector remained unchanged. Construction workers also saw a big increase at 7.2 percent. Employees of water companies and waste management saw the lowest increase, 1.7 percent.