The Dutch economy is growing at its fastest rate for 10 years and is expected to continue booming in 2018, according to the latest forecasts by the central bank (DNB).

GDP grew by 3.3% in 2017, according to DNB estimates, and is likely to increase by 3.1% next year before cooling in 2019 to 2.3%. Over the same period the unemployment rate is likely to drop to around 3.5% of the working population from its current level of 4.9%.

‘We are moving from economic recovery to economic expansion,’ said DNB executive director Job Swank.

The economic boom is being driven by both an increase in global trade and sharply rising domestic consumption as improving employment prospects encourage people to spend more.

DNB said the strong housing market, where property prices have increased by 7.5% this year, also contributed to the rosy economic picture. But Swank cautioned against any measures to inflate house prices still further and said measures to stimulate wage rises would be better for economic stability.