Even before the war in Ukraine started and the high energy prices subsequently pushed up inflation, the purchasing power of the average Dutch household was already under pressure. Purchasing power increased by an average of 0.3 percent in 2021, the smallest increase in years. That appears from Figures published on Tuesday from the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS).
The development of purchasing power was held back by, among other things, the fact that wages did not increase or did not increase sufficiently in line with inflation. In November and December 2021, prices of goods and services were more than 5 percent higher than the same months a year earlier, while average wages (adjusted for inflation) decreased by 3 percent.
Obviously, not everyone suffered a decline in purchasing power in 2021. More than 60 percent of employees saw their purchasing power increase, while the opposite was true for 75 percent of pension recipients.
The purchasing power estimates for the current calendar year are bleak. In August inflation rose to 12 percent, the highest rate ever recorded. The sky-high prices in combination with wages that do not keep pace are expected to result in a decrease in purchasing power of 6.8 percent in 2022, the Central Planning Bureau (CPB) calculated in August.