They remain 18% lower

but, Spanish salaries have not kept up. Although national GDP increased more than three times that of the European Union as a whole in the same period (3.5% versus 1%), workers’ salaries have not kept pace.

According to European Commission data, Spanish salaries rose by 4.6%, Below the community average.

Thus, the average Spanish salary remains at 33,700 euros. This widens the distance between Spanish and European wages.

With data from 2023, the average Spanish salary was 17.4% lower than the community average. With information from 2024The number rises to 18.1% (about 6,100 euros)..

Moreover there is the issue Purchasing power. It is true that inflation grew less than salaries in 2024 in Spain. Prices rose by 2.9%. This is 1.7 points lower than salaries and improves workers’ purchasing power.

However, in this aspect too, our country loses compared to the EU average. The societal inflation rate remained at 2.6%. That is, less than Spanish. In addition to the significant increase in salaries, It increases purchasing power by 2.6 points.

It is worth noting that this moderate development of salaries (especially in relation to inflation) is essential The number of Spaniards working in more than one job has increased. In fact, the highest levels of overtime in history were recorded last summer, as this newspaper has already reported.

“Salary stagnation, mounting inflation and the difficulty of finding good work have worsened New survival strategies among active populations“, warn Infojobs.

“More and more people are turning to side gigs, accepting commissions on their own or directly; They are willing to receive part of their income outside the official circle“, they add.

In fact, according to a job portal analysis, “One in four Spaniards agree to have part or all of their salary in Category BOne in ten admit to having done so in the past two years. In addition, 10% of the working population combine several jobs or activities to supplement their income.”

What’s more: 26% of Spaniards would be willing to take part or all of their salary into B categoryAnd 10% admit that they have done so during the past two years.

This attitude is widespread among young people and low-income people. “Nearly half of young people between the ages of 18 and 24 would accept to be paid outside the official circle.” Among those who earn less than 1,000 euros per month, the percentage reaches 38%.“.

On the other hand, rejection of this practice increases with age and salary level. However, “among people with higher incomes, 1 in 5 admit they would consider this as an option.”