Amsterdam outlook 2025-2029

The European economy has endured a challenging year in 2025, but we expect Amsterdam to hold up relatively well. We anticipate GDP in the city to grow by 1.6% this year, ahead of peers such as Rotterdam which are significantly more exposed to trade disruption. Amsterdam’s business services and ICT sectors continue to be a bright spot for the city, while interest rate cuts reducing pressure on household finances should also provide a boost to the city’s consumer and tourism dependent sectors.

What you will learn:

• The outlook for the labour market is also broadly positive. While the unemployment rate has ticked up slightly over the past year, the number of people employed in the city has increased and we expect further jobs gains over the forecast period. This will be led by growth in officebased sectors, which should bring with it extra demand for office space in the city.
• House price growth has slowed over the past few quarters, particularly compared to other major Dutch cities and the national average. This has coincided with an uptick in the number of residential transactions, which appears to be linked to the recent trend of investors selling rental properties in the city, thereby increasing the owner-occupied housing stock.
• The Amsterdam economy is dominated by a fast-growing business services sector, as well as a rapidly developing ICT sector. The trade, transport & storage and hospitality sectors are also sizable contributors to the city’s economy, supported by the fact that Amsterdam is one of the most visited cities in Europe. However, overtourism is becoming an increasing concern for local residents.