2023-07-20 16:45:48
Never before has there been a higher average salary in Spain: 1,822 euros per month in 2022 after increasing by 4% in the last year, the second highest increase since 2008. However, this maximum salary does not imply more purchasing power in the pockets of Spanish workers, as one might think.
On the contrary, when they go shopping, they can buy far less things than a year before despite having more money due to the escalation of inflation, which reached double digits last summer and reached the maximum in three decades. Specifically, if we discount the variation in consumer prices, in 2022 the average salary lost 4% in purchasing power, which is equivalent to 70 euros less per month, 843 euros less per year, according to the IX Adecco Monitor on Salaries published this Thursday.
And it is not a one-time event because inflation has skyrocketed in the last year as a result of the war in Ukraine. No. Workers now have less purchasing power than in 2017 and even than in 2008, when the great financial crisis broke out, according to this study. Thus, over the last five years there has been a cumulative fall in the purchasing power of average remuneration of 2.5%. That cut equates to a loss of almost 44 euros per month or 523 euros per year compared to 2017. And if compared to the 2008 data, these results worsen, as the purchasing power of the median wage in 2022 is 7% lower than in 2008.
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If analyzed by sector, the average salary lost purchasing power in the three large economic sectors throughout 2022. Construction was the most affected, with a 5% reduction, which translates into approximately 1,022 euros less per year. Industry was next, with a fall of 4.6%, which represents 1,088 euros less per year. And the least affected sector was services, with a cut of 3.8% that translates into a loss of 772 euros per year.
The accumulated evolution of purchasing power throughout the period 2017-2022, however, shows that industry is the most affected with a reduction of 6.3%, followed by a loss of purchasing power of 4.4% in construction and 1.4% in services.
In current euro terms, the loss of purchasing power in the industry between 2017 and 2022 equates to approximately 125 euros per month, 1,504 euros less per year. For its part, the loss of purchasing power in construction is equivalent to almost 74 euros per month (885 euros per year), while in services it represents a loss of almost 24 euros per month (285 euros per year).
In the last five years, all the autonomous communities have lost purchasing power, although not to the same extent. Castilla-La Mancha was in the lead, with a cut of 6.1%, followed by Cantabria (-5.9%), Asturias (-5.6%) and La Rioja (-5.2%). On the opposite side, Catalonia is the one that has lost the least (-0.4%).
Almost 7,000 euros of gap
But there are also large salary differences, as well as by sector, by the size of the company: the bigger it is, the better the salary. Compared to the general average of 1,822 euros per month, large companies achieve an average remuneration of 2,127 euros per month, that is, 305 euros above the average. On the other hand, small companies stand at an average of 1,549 euros per month (273 euros below the average) and medium-sized companies reach 1,919 euros (97 euros above the average).
Thus, the gap between the largest and smallest companies in 2022 is approximately 578 euros per month, 6,939 euros per year. This difference expressed in percentage terms is equivalent to 37%, while in 2021 it was 41% and, if we go back to 2017, it was 45%, so it has been decreasing.
Logically, a full-time worker earns more than a part-time worker: 2,095 euros gross per month, compared to 863 euros per month. However, in the period 2017-2022 the purchasing power of the average full-time remuneration fell by 4.3%, while that of part-time increased by 2.4%.
By sections of activity, the largest rise in average wages was in the hospitality industry, which increased by 28.4%. With this strong consecutive increase in 2022, he manages to exceed the average salary of 2019, which stood at 1,099, and reaches 1,186 euros per month. However, it continues to be the section with the lowest salary.
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