Dutch labour productivity rebounds strongly in 2025
The economy grew while fewer hours were worked, according to CBS figures.
Labour productivity in the Netherlands rose by 2.4 per cent in 2025 compared with a year earlier. That was the strongest increase in twenty years, after productivity had fallen in 2023 and 2024.
Statistics Netherlands (CBS) calculates labour productivity as gross domestic product per hour worked. The Dutch economy grew by 1.8 per cent in 2025, while the total number of hours worked fell by 0.6 per cent. As a result, output per hour worked increased more sharply than the economy as a whole.
The comparison with the two preceding years is striking. Labour productivity fell by 1.9 per cent in 2023 and by 0.3 per cent in 2024. The recovery in 2025 is therefore clear, but one good year does not yet show that a new long-term growth trend has emerged.
Part of the increase is linked to the composition of the economy. CBS measures the economy as a whole, including sectors in which productivity is more difficult to determine. De Nederlandsche Bank previously warned that, for example, the phasing out of gas extraction in Groningen had depressed national productivity figures for years because a highly productive sector disappeared from the statistics.
The labour market also changed. CBS reported that fewer hours were worked in 2025. This may be due to changes in the number of self-employed people, enforcement of rules against false self-employment and the distribution of work across sectors. An increase in productivity therefore does not automatically mean that every worker individually produced more.
Households contributed most to economic growth in 2025. Their consumption rose by 1.5 per cent after adjusting for price changes. Exports of goods and services also recovered after two years of contraction. These are growth factors that may indirectly affect productivity, but the CBS figures do not identify a single cause.
The development matters to businesses and policymakers because an ageing population means the Netherlands cannot add more working hours indefinitely. Investment in technology, training and more efficient work processes can increase output per hour. DNB also stresses that productivity growth is not an end in itself: the distribution of the proceeds and the quality of work partly determine whether growth benefits society.
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The main figures were confirmed by CBS and NOS. The explanation of measurement problems and the role of gas extraction was checked with DNB.
- confirmed Labour productivity rose by 2.4 per cent in 2025. — CBS reports this increase for the Dutch economy as a whole. source
- confirmed The economy grew by 1.8 per cent and the number of hours worked fell by 0.6 per cent. — These figures appear in the CBS table for 2025. source
- confirmed Productivity fell in 2023 and 2024. — CBS cites declines of 1.9 and 0.3 per cent. source
- confirmed DNB describes the phasing out of gas extraction in Groningen as a factor affecting national productivity measurement. — DNB discusses this as a statistical effect. source
Editor's note
The figures are strongly supported. The causes of the increase are mixed and cannot be fully inferred from a single statistic.Sources
More on this in Dutch media
- NRC — „arbeidsproductiviteit cbs”
- NOS — „arbeidsproductiviteit cbs”
- Het Parool — „arbeidsproductiviteit cbs”