Negotiated wages went up by an average of 5% this year, some 2% above inflation, statistics agency CBS has said.

Wages have now exceeded inflation for the third year running as prices went up by 3% over 2025, according to Dutch Central Bank figures. Some 75% of the population fall under a centrally-negotiated wage deal (CAO).

The increase is slightly lower than in 2024 (6.5%) and 2023 (6.1%), but it is still among the biggest rises of the last 40 years, the CBS said.

Workers in the pharmaceutical industry topped the list with an 8.7% rise, followed by cleaners with 8.7%. The chemical sector collective wage agreement included a rise of 7.5%  while IT and communications workers saw their wages increase by 7.4%.

Teachers’, health workers’ and hospitality sector rises hovered around the 4.5% mark, while builders saw their wages rise by 5.7%.

At the bottom of the list, with just 2.8% came wages in the textile and clothing industry, 2 percentage points below inflation, leaving workers worse off. Wages in the rental property sector rose by 3.2%, just above inflation.

Dutch economic growth was “significantly higher” in 2025 than expected in the spring, the Dutch central bank said on Friday. In June, the official growth forecast was 1.1%, but it is now projected to be 1.7%, the central bank said in new autumn projections.

In particular, the economy has been less affected by uncertainty in world trade than previously expected, the bank said, adding that “trade agreements have eased international trade tensions somewhat, although economic and geopolitical uncertainty remains elevated.”

Economic growth in 2026 (1.2%) and 2027 (1.1%) is projected to be lower than this year, but growth in 2026 will also be higher than in the spring projections.