The Dutch economy grew by 0.4% in the final three months of last year, bringing full-year growth to 0.9%, national statistics agency CBS reported on Friday.

Meanwhile, the labor shortage increased, with more job vacancies, and 112,000 new jobs were added over the year, CBS said.

The Dutch economy expanded more in the fourth quarter than its key trading partners and the EU as a whole, where growth averaged 0.1%. Belgium’s economy grew by 0.2% in the last three months of the year, while Germany and France saw contractions of 0.2% and 0.1%, respectively.

“Dutch Q4 economic growth is mainly due to foreign trade and investments,” CBS chief economist Piet Hein van Mulligen said. Consumer and government spending, both of which rose by 0.9% from the previous quarter, also contributed, he added.

The business services, public services, construction, and tech sectors accounted for much of the 33,000 job increase in the fourth quarter, Van Mulligen said.

The Dutch unemployment rate remained steady at 3.7% over 2024 as a whole, marking the first time since 1988 that it has remained virtually unchanged for two consecutive years. At that time, the unemployment rate was 8.3%.

There are now 108 job vacancies for every 100 people officially unemployed in the Netherlands.

The number of workers with a flexible contract fell by 53,000 in the fourth quarter to 2.7 million. The drop is mainly down to people on short-term contracts being offered permanent placements, and the number of call-out contracts rose slightly.