The pay of the average Dutch worker rose 1.4% in the first three months of this year, just lagging below inflation of 1.5%, the national statistics office CBS said on Thursday.

It is the first time since 2014 that inflation has outstripped pay rises, the CBS said. The rise is also well down on the 1.9% increase in salaries over 2016 as a whole.

The average increase was depressed by public sector pay, which only went up 0.5%. Private sector earnings were up 1.6% over the period.