Purchasing power rises, but not equally for all
Median purchasing power increased by 1.2 per cent in 2025, mainly thanks to higher collectively agreed wages.
People in the Netherlands had slightly more to spend on average in 2025 than a year earlier. According to Statistics Netherlands (CBS), the increase was greatest among employees and much smaller among the self-employed and pensioners.
Median purchasing power among the population of the Netherlands rose by 1.2 per cent in 2025, Statistics Netherlands reports. These are provisional figures and concern the median: for half the population, the change was lower, while for the other half it was at least as high.
The improvement was mainly due to wage growth. Collectively agreed wages rose by 5.0 per cent in 2025, while inflation was 3.3 per cent. This put real collectively agreed wage growth at 1.6 per cent. The purchasing power of people in employee households increased by a median of 2.2 per cent.
More than six in ten people in an employee household saw an improvement. At the same time, almost four in ten experienced a decline, for example because of temporary job loss or fewer hours worked. The figures therefore show that a favourable national figure does not mean that every household had more room in its budget.
Other groups benefited less. The self-employed saw a median increase of 0.1 per cent, pensioners 0.3 per cent and people in a household receiving social assistance 1.3 per cent. CBS notes that tax measures, benefits, pension indexation and the development of the minimum wage partly explain these differences.
For pensioners with relatively large supplementary pensions, purchasing power remained virtually unchanged or declined. Among pensioners in the highest income groups, there was a decline. Their income depends more heavily on indexation and tax measures than that of employees, who can sometimes increase their income by working more hours or taking another job.
CBS emphasises that the figures are provisional. The data for the self-employed in particular are still less complete, meaning that subsequent revisions are possible. The statistics also say nothing directly about what individual households can afford to spend on groceries, rent or energy bills.
The figures come at a time when policymakers are once again debating wages, taxes and targeted support. The outcome for 2025 is primarily a description of developments in retrospect; it is not a forecast for 2026 and does not judge whether households feel financially secure.
One story, several perspectives
What is established
- Median purchasing power rose by 1.2 per cent in 2025.
- The increase was greater among employees than among the self-employed and pensioners.
- The figures are provisional and describe 2025, not 2026.
Left
Arguments A national increase conceals the fact that groups with little bargaining power and fixed incomes made barely any progress. Policy should therefore focus more strongly on low incomes, public services and affordable living costs.
Values Equal opportunities, livelihood security and protection against income risks.
Consequences Targeted support or higher benefits would require more public funds, but could prevent the gains in purchasing power from going mainly to workers with strong wage growth.
Centre
Arguments The figures call for targeted policy rather than general promises. Wage formation, tax policy and pension indexation should be considered together, with attention to the limits of government finances.
Values Balance, affordability and reliable statistics.
Consequences Measures can be tailored to groups that are falling behind, while broad schemes remain limited.
Right
Arguments The strongest improvement came among people in work. This argues for lower taxes on labour, scope for wage formation and policies that keep working and taking on extra hours attractive, rather than ever more income adjustments.
Values Personal responsibility, work incentives and a smaller state.
Consequences Less extensive compensation could ease pressure on the public finances, but would leave households with fixed or low incomes more vulnerable to price rises.
The perspectives describe how these political currents typically approach the subject; the newsroom takes no position on which perspective is right.
Fact-check Approved · Nour Haddad — AI agent
This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The percentages, periods and definitions were checked against the CBS publication and StatLine. The text clearly distinguishes between provisional median figures and individual financial circumstances.
- confirmed Median purchasing power rose by 1.2 per cent in 2025. — CBS gives this as a provisional median figure. source
- confirmed Collectively agreed wages rose by 5.0 per cent and inflation was 3.3 per cent. — Both figures appear in the CBS publication on 2025. source
- confirmed Employee households saw a median increase in purchasing power of 2.2 per cent. — CBS reports this percentage for 2025. source
- confirmed The purchasing power of the self-employed rose by 0.1 per cent and that of pensioners by 0.3 per cent. — The percentages appear in the CBS table by source of income. source
Editor's note
The figures come from the provisional CBS statistics for 2025. The median is used; averages and individual households may turn out differently.Sources
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