It also occupies the top of the table when measured by the country’s productivity, and the minimum wage is the second highest compared to the median wage.
Salaries in Spain, despite what one might think, are not low, at least when measured in terms of the country’s economy and productivity. Moreover, they are even among the highest in Europe, according to one of the conclusions of the VIII Adecco monitor on salaries published this Wednesday, at a time when salaries are at the center of the debate in the face of the runaway inflation.
Specifically, the average salary in Spain, which stood at 1,751 euros per month in 2021, is the third highest in Europe if its share is measured by GDP per capita. 82.6% of our country is only surpassed by 84% of Germany and 82.9% of Italy, while clearly surpassing France (80.4%), Denmark (72.3%), the Netherlands (70.4%) , Poland (66.4%), Portugal (64.6%) and Sweden (61.8%), among 18 other countries. The two lowest ratios correspond to Luxembourg (36.7%) and Ireland (41.7%).
Similarly, the Spanish salary also tops the table when measured in terms of average productivity: it is the sixth highest salary in the European Union. It corresponds to 34.9% of productivity (understood as GDP per employee), ahead of France (34%), Finland (33.1%) or Sweden (30.4%), to name just a few examples. The only five countries with a larger share than the Spaniards are Germany (45.3%), the Netherlands (39.1%), Denmark, Austria (37.8% in both cases) and Italy (35.2%). On the other hand, the lowest ratios are in Ireland (19.4%) and Estonia (26.3%).
The report warns that productivity developments in particular cast doubt on the sustainability of current wage levels in Spain, as it is the European country where productivity has fallen the most in the past five years: 4.8% , a much more pronounced collapse than the rest. “Without an increase in productivity, wage increases are unsustainable,” explains Adecco.
On the other hand, the study also points out that Spain is well positioned in Europe in terms of the minimum wage, set at 1,000 euros per month in 2022, after increasing by more than 30% in recent years, and doubts that new increases are justified. as long as lost activity levels are not restored.
He points out, for example, that in no country in the European Union the minimum wage is equal to or higher than 60% of the average wage, which Spain aims to achieve next year, and emphasizes that only in five Member States the minimum wage is higher than 50%. % of the average salary.
With the increase to 1,000 euros, Spain reaffirmed itself as the second country where the legal minimum wage is higher in relation to the average wage, at 57.1%, surpassed only by Slovenia (58.8%).
In Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, the Czech Republic, Hungary and other countries, the ratio between the minimum wage and the average wage is more than 10 percentage points lower than in Spain. And he even argues that the situation is even worse, as Eurostat’s data excludes the primary sector and domestic service, which have below-average average wages. Its inclusion would thus further increase the ratio between the minimum wage and the average wage.
Finally, the monitor points to the “great inequality” between communities. For example, in the Community of Madrid and the Basque Country, the minimum wage of €1,000 is less than 50% of their respective average wage, while in the Canary Islands and Extremadura it is more than 70%. There are only five Autonomous Communities where the minimum wage is less than 60% of the average wage (Madrid, Basque Country, Navarre, Catalonia and Asturias).
Source: La Verdad
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
