Salaries skyrocket 5 percent and exceeded 2,000 euros per month for the first time in the first quarter.
The economy is returning to normal after the COVID-19 crisis, and this is already beginning to be observed both in the number of hours worked and, in the salaries, received.
In the first quarter of 2022, the salary of employees soared by 5.2% year-on-year, to stand at 2,007 euros gross per month. It is the first time in history that gross euros 2,000 per month have been exceeded in a first quarter, according to labour and salary cost data published today by the INE.
The 5.2% increase, however, is still far from compensating for the loss of purchasing power derived from higher inflation. In the first quarter, the shopping basket became more expensive on average by 7.8% per month, more than two and a half points higher.
Salaries skyrocket 5 percent
The salary cost considers both the base salary, as well as salary supplements, overtime payments, extraordinary payments, and overdue payments. If the latter (extraordinary and overdue payments) are excluded, the increase was 4.3%.
The increase in the wage cost was the variable that has put the most pressure on labour costs, which increased by 4.7% in the first quarter, standing at 2,729 euros gross per month. Next to remuneration, there are compulsory Social Security contributions (which increased by 4.8%) or severance payments, which fell.
This is the fifth consecutive quarter in which companies experience an increase in costs, at a time when prices are pressing on all fronts, with the increase in raw materials, energy, or transport.
But the reason labour costs do not stop increasing has to do with the recovery of hours worked.
During the crisis, companies pulled ERTE via working day reductions to be able to weather the break in activity and the loss of turnover. Months later, and with the ERTES due to COVID-19 already extinguished, the workers are recovering their days.
Salaries skyrocket 5 percent growth
The growth of labour costs is greatest in hospitality, artistic, recreational and entertainment activities, and financial and insurance activities.
But the increase is especially striking in hospitality, where the average salary soared by 67.8% in the first quarter, to reach 1,150 euros per month per worker. That is fifty euros more per month than in the first quarter of 2019, before the pandemic.
Even so, the cost per hour worked by employees in this sector is the lowest (10 euros per hour, compared to more than forty-one euros per hour for workers in the supply of electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning.
Salaries skyrocket 5 percent vacancies
Right now, in Spain there are 133,988 job vacancies to be filled, according to INE calculations. This is the highest figure since 2013.
Of this figure, 88.9% is in the services sector, compared to only 4.1% in construction and 7.1% in industry.
By communities, Catalonia, Madrid, and Andalusia account for more than 56% of the total vacancies this quarter.
A vacancy is understood to be that job created recently or that is not occupied or that is about to become free and for which the employer is taking active measures to find a candidate outside the company.
