Dashboard on changes in negotiated wages, Q1 of 2026

Last updated: 20260507

In the first quarter of 2026, the hourly wages agreed under collective labour agreements (CAO in Dutch) including special remuneration increased by 4.5 percent. Since the significant increase in negotiated wages in the third quarter of 2024, the growth has slowed.

Contractual wage costs (negotiated wages and employer contributions) rose by 4.4 percent in Q1. This was almost the same percentage increase as seen in the change in negotiated wages.

Of all three sectors, wages in the public sector rose by the least in Q1, at 3.4 percent. Wages rose by 4.8 percent among workers in private companies and by 4.2 percent among workers in subsidised institutions.

Between 2020 and Q1 of 2026, negotiated wages increased the most among workers in the private sector (29.2 percent). Among workers in subsidised institutions and the public sector wages rose by 28.4 percent and 28.8 percent, respectively.

The provisional figure for Q1 of 2026 is based on 93 percent of the data collected on collective labour agreements to compile the statistics. Three-quarters of workers are covered by a collective labour agreement.

Negotiated wages, final figures 2025

In 2025, hourly wages agreed under collective labour agreements, including special remuneration, increased by 5.0 percent compared with 2024. Wage growth was lower than in the previous two years, but it was still one of the largest increases in the last forty years. The largest increase in negotiated wages in 2025 was seen in the information and communication sector (7.4 percent). The smallest wage increase of any sector was seen in the real estate activities sector, where wages rose by 3.2 percent in 2025.

Figures on StatLine: Cao wages, contractual wage costs and working hours.