The average annual salary in Spain reached €29,540.26 in 2024, a 35% increase since 2008, but inflation accumulated a rise of 37.1% during the same period. Housing exacerbates the loss of purchasing power for households.
The average annual salary in Spain stood at €29,540.26 in 2024, representing a nominal increase of 35% compared to €21,883.42 in 2008, according to the Annual Salary Structure Survey (EAES) from the National Institute of Statistics (INE). However, during that same period, prices accumulated a rise of 37.1%, according to the general consumer price index (CPI), which translates into a loss of purchasing power for workers.
This trend is compounded by the rising cost of housing, with purchase prices at their highest levels in the last five decades and substantial increases in new rental contracts since 2019, as reported by Infobae based on the latest monographic report from the Bank of Spain on housing.
According to CCOO, the situation is summarised: "After years of stagnant nominal wages and public policies aimed at wage restraint following the great recession (financial crisis of 2008), the nominal increases of recent years have been hampered by the effect of inflation. Real wages have been stagnant for 25 years."
Natalia Arias Pérez, from the Economic Cabinet of CCOO, explains that "the financial crisis of 2008 marked a strong period of wage devaluation." At that time, the unemployment rate approached 27%, with more than 6.2 million unemployed. The labour reform of 2012 facilitated the exit from the crisis through internal flexibility of companies, which gained external competitiveness by cutting wages, according to the union.
Wage recovery began slowly in 2014 and intensified from 2018. The minimum interprofessional wage (SMI) has accumulated an increase of 66% between 2018 and 2026. However, the recovery coincided with the inflationary shock that began in 2021 and was exacerbated in 2022 by the war in Ukraine, which reduced the purchasing power of households.
The Bank of Spain points out that the inflationary episode that began in mid-2021 has caused a significant loss of purchasing power, with less pressure in 2024 and 2025, but with a new spike expected in 2026.
In the European comparison, the average annual salary adjusted for full-time work in Spain was €33,700 in 2024, the latest available year, compared to an average of €39,800 in the European Union, according to Eurostat. Spain ranks eleventh, behind Luxembourg (€82,969), Denmark (€71,575), Ireland (€61,051), Belgium (€59,632), Germany (€53,751), and France (€43,790).
Since 2008, the average salary in Spain has increased by 36%, well below the European average, which has risen by 52%, and major economies like Germany (60.7%) or Belgium (53.7%).
The union warns that low-wage workers have gained some purchasing power since 2018, but they do not exceed the pre-great recession level and struggle to access basic goods such as housing. In the case of medium and high wages, "in recent years they have not gained or even lost purchasing power," adds CCOO.
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