Spain accumulates in less than a decade and a half two of the most serious economical crisis of its recent history. From the first, the brickthe economy took more than five years to recover and the job almost a decade. Of the second, the coronavirus, companies and workers already see the end of the tunnel. The great debate now focuses more on the rampant inflation and how much the balance sheets of some and the pockets of others are suffering -and will suffer even more. But how did they get there? wages to the covid crisis? Spoiler alert: things didn’t go well.
Between one ‘crash’ and another, more than a lost decade has elapsed for wages in Spain. Or at least for those who receive them. The workers, on average, not only have they not gained purchasing power in that time, but they have seen it fall back slightly. In short: they are poorer. Based on the data from the Salary Structure Survey updated by the INE this week, the average salary in Spain in 2020 was €1,797.5 gross per month (in 14 payments). And in 2008 it was €1,563.1 gross per month (in 14 payments).
In 12 years the average salary has grown by fifteen%. What is the problem? That he cost of living has also risen and has done so to a greater extent. Shoes are more expensive, going out to dinner on a Friday is more expensive, smoking is much more expensive and paying rent in cities like Barcelona either Madrid requires for most a herculean effort. What has gone down are televisions, sound equipment and cameras. According to the INE, they are 62% cheaper products. Discounting inflation, on average a worker in Spain was before covid a few 6 euros per month more poor.
Not all Professions They have traveled the journey from one crisis to another in the same way and with the same result. Nor have these increases been distributed equally among more or less wealthy. Although the average salary has lost 0.4 points of purchasing power, the most frequent salary – which is statistically the most likely to come out if someone questions someone on the street – has gained some buying power.
In 2020 this was 1,320 euros gross a month (in 14 payments), while just when the housing bubble burst it was 1,107 euros gross per month (in 14 payments). In other words, it has risen in absolute terms by 213 euros and percentage-wise in terms of purchasing power -discounting inflation- it has risen by 3.8 points. In other words, that ordinary worker today is 42 euros richer than in 2008. This is explained because the lowest wages have risen more intensely during that time than the medium and high wages, and the recent increases in the interprofessional minimum wage (SMI). This was 600 euros (in 14 payments) in 2008 and in 2020 it was 950 euros.
The waiters, the worst unemployed
One of the sectors that are currently complaining the most about the lack of labor is the hotel industry. from the employer CEOE They consider that reducing the explanation of the abundance of vacancies to low salaries is simplistic. However, the wage structure survey reveals that between the last two crises, wages in the hospitality industry have barely risen 1.2%.
In 2020 a hospitality professional charged €1,009 gross per month (in 14 payments), while in 2008 his salary was 997 euros. An increase of 12 euros in just the last 12 years, which after discounting inflation leads to a loss of purchasing power of 147.5 euros gross per month or 2,065 euros gross per year.
Related news
In other unions there has been a loss of purchasing power, but more tenuous. It is the case of the building, where after the bubble burst, hundreds of thousands of jobs were destroyed and wages moderated. In 2008, its workers earned an average of €1,479.1 gross per month (in 14 payments) and twelve years later they charged €1,650.3 gross. After inflation, they have lost purchasing power. Specifically, salaries are 56 euros gross per month (or 790 euros gross per year) lower.
On the other side of the scale, there are professions that have gained purchasing power between one crisis and another. It is the case of the education, where the average salary in 2008 was 1,491 euros gross per month (in 14 payments) and in 2020 it amounted to 1,934 euros gross. That is, in 12 years they have earned, on average, 203 gross euros per month or 2,851 gross euros per year of purchasing power. Other unions where working conditions are better are the extractive industry (+13.3 points), water supply (+7.4 points) or public administration (+5.1 points).