Salaries in the Netherlands are rising at unprecedented rates

Figures acquired by NU from employers’ association AWVN reveal that Dutch salaries rose by an unprecedented 3,8 percent in May. 

Dutch salaries rise by 3,8 percent in May 2022

A few weeks, ago, AWVN reported that salaries agreed upon in collective labour agreements recorded their sharpest increase in 13 years in April 2022. Now, provisional figures published by NU show that the steady increase seen in the first few months of this year has continued into May, when people working in the Netherlands saw their wages rise by an average of 3,8 percent. 

Rising prices and labour shortages driving up wages

"Even in the strong economic years of 2017, 2018, 2019 and at the beginning of 2020, [these increases] did not happen," an AWVN spokesperson told the news site, explaining that the current raises were a result of economic growth seen in early 2021, following the outbreak of coronavirus in 2020.

High inflation rates and rising energy and food prices across the country are also contributing to higher wages, as is the national labour crisis. “Companies want to be an attractive employer and to keep their employees, so wages are rising,” the spokesperson said.