Wages rose by an average 2.9% in the Netherlands last year, but the increase became more moderate as the year progressed, the national statistics office said on Monday.

In the first quarter of 2009, wages were up 3.7% on the year-earlier period, but by the final quarter the increase was down to 2.4%.
Last autumn unions and employers agreed to moderate wages in line with inflation in return for job security. Inflation was around 1.2% last year.
The CBS says the difference between inflation and pay rises is usually around 0.5 percentage point.