Household incomes rise 3.5% in third quarter amid higher wages and social payments

Household incomes rose by an average of 3.5 percent in the third quarter compared with a year earlier. Statistics Netherlands attributes this growth largely to higher collectively negotiated wages and increased social security payments.

The income of both employees and the self-employed was higher than in the third quarter of 2024. “Total compensation for employees grew by 6.6 percent,” the statistics bureau reported.

Collectively agreed wages were 4.6 percent higher last quarter. According to Statistics Netherlands, households also had to pay well over 5 percent more in taxes and social security contributions in the past quarter.

Mortgage debt continued to climb, Statistics Netherlands said, increasing by 12.7 billion euros in the third quarter to a total of 924.2 billion euros. According to the agency, the faster rise compared with last year reflects higher house prices and a greater number of home sales than a year earlier.

Market analysts report that Dutch house prices were almost 8 percent higher than a year earlier in the third quarter of 2025, resulting in larger new mortgage loans.

Although mortgage debt is increasing, its share of gross domestic product has stayed broadly under control, thanks in part to continued economic growth. As a result, the overall debt burden relative to the economy’s size has not surged sharply.

Economic growth continued in the Netherlands in the third quarter of 2025, as gross domestic product rose 0.4 percent from the previous quarter. The increase suggests a period of steady growth, supported by rising household spending and incomes. Rising consumer spending and stronger exports are helping to underpin the favorable economic trend.

Households also saw gains earlier in the year, with real disposable income increasing in the first quarter of 2025. Compared with a year earlier, incomes were up 2.2 percent.