Salaries of Spanish workers continue to grow quarter after quarter, but at a slower pace. According to the Harmonized Labor Cost Index (ICLA) published this Tuesday by the National Institute of Statistics (INE), The wage cost per hour worked paid by companies increased by 2.3% in the third quarter compared to the same period last year. The total labor cost (which includes, in addition to salaries, expenses such as social security contributions paid by the company), increased by 2.4% per hour worked compared to the previous year.
The data shows that The pace of wage increases slowed considerably last year. If we go back to the third quarter of 2024, salaries – adjusted for seasonal and calendar effects – increased at a rate of 4.6%. A rate which doubles that observed in the latest available data.
Indeed, since this date, salary increases have been constantly moderating and salaries They have already accumulated four consecutive quarters of deceleration. Over the last three months of 2024, hourly compensation increased by 3.7% year-on-year; at the start of the year, increases moderated to 3.4% and slowed to 3.3% in the second quarter.
The 2.3% increase over one year recorded in the third quarter is the lowest figure since the end of 2021as the economy was immersed in the recovery process from the pandemic. Wage increases increased in response to the inflationary crisis caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Wages per hour worked increased at a rate of 5% in the third quarter of 2023, but since then the trend has been towards moderation.
The salary dynamic in 2024 and 2025 allowed workers recover part of the purchasing power lost due to the inflationary crisis. Data provided by collective agreements, labor cost statistics and tax data from large companies predict wage increases of between 3 and 3.8% for the whole of 2025. Figures that would be enough to beat inflation which, as of November, averaged 2.7% last year.
Analyst consensus indicates that The Spanish economy will continue to grow next year, driven by family consumptionalthough this will be at a slower pace than in 2025. Therefore, wages are expected to continue to improve, although they will grow more slowly. For example, Airef forecasts a salary increase of 2.7% per employee next year, sufficient in principle to exceed inflation forecasts.
By sectors
At the sector level, jobs where hourly wages have increased the most The sectors occupied were transport and warehousing (6.9%), administrative activities and auxiliary services (6.5%) and construction. In these three sectors, wages, far from slowing down, have accelerated in recent quarters.
Notable wage increases were also recorded in high value-added sectors such as information and communication (4.7%) or the professional, scientific and technical activities (4.4%). The manufacturing industry, with a wage increase of 3.1%, closes the list of activities experiencing above-average growth.
Below the national average, activities such as trade —where hourly wages increased by 2.2% in the third quarter— hospitality (2.2%); he supply of electricity and gas… (1.4%); water supply, sanitation and waste (1.2%), education (0.7%) and the sector real estate (0.2%).
Furthermore, there are up to four activities where remuneration per hour of work has been reduced compared to the third quarter. This is the artistic, recreational and entertainment activities (-0.1%), finance and insurance (-0.2%), public administration and defense (-1%) and health and social services (-1.2%).
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