Prices grew 3.5% in 2023 and wages accelerated 4.7%, according to the Annual labour cost survey released this Wednesday by the National Institute of Statistics. This means that, on average, Spanish workers gained 1.2 points of purchasing power last year, after losing 3.8 points in 2022. However, the guts of the statistics show that not all workers are in the same situation. There is a great disparity.
Unlike other surveys, this one allows us to know the evolution of remuneration with a high level of disaggregation. Thus, we can see that the activities included in point 63 of the National Classification of Economic Activities (CNAE)information services, are those that have experienced the greatest acceleration in salaries: with a jump from 33,121 gross euros per year to 38,386 euros, an increase of 15.9%. Discounting the inflation of the previous year (3.5%), these professionals gained 12.4 points of purchasing power. This point of the CNAE groups together employees in data processing, hosting and web portals, as well as the activities of news agencies. The moderate increase included in the new daily press agreement (and it was not unlocked until this year) suggests that data processors, and not journalists, are responsible for the increase. A good example is that employees in radio and television, grouped in another CNAE section, suffer a contraction of 2.6 points in their purchasing power.
Throughout 2023, workers in travel agency, tour operator and reservation service activities also gained a lot of purchasing power, 10.8 points. Regarding this activity, it should be noted that in 2020 and 2021 there was a brutal contraction in average wages, derived from the tourism halt due to the coronavirus. Thus, the acceleration in 2023 compensates for this decline, but a broader view shows that there is still room for improvement: wages grew from 2019 to 2023 by 9.9%, compared to 13.2% for the economy as a whole.
The third profession that gained the most purchasing power last year is that of consultants, with 9.6 points. Since 2019, there has been a sustained increase in salaries of 24%, which has boosted the average salary from 31,725 gross euros per year to 39,339 in just four years. The purchasing power of employees in the tobacco industry (8.5 points), in air transport (7.9), in computer repair (7), in libraries, museums and archives (5.5), in postal and courier activities, in scientific and technical activities and in those related to rental (all three at 5.3) is also growing.
On the other side of the scale is the coke and petroleum refining industry, which lost 19 points of purchasing power compared to 2022. It is a sector with very few workers, 8,100 in December of last year, more susceptible to sudden changes. Unlike this time, these employees gained seven points of purchasing power in 2022 and 13.7 in 2021.
The purchasing power of employees in the energy supply sector (-3.5) and in financial activities (-3.4) also fell. However, a review of how collective bargaining has evolved in these sectors contradicts the results: unions and employers have been agreeing on increases that compensate for inflation. The fall in wages in these activities may be related to restructuring in these sectors, where it is common for employees to retire with salaries much higher than average, above what the workers who replace them receive in their duties.
The anomalous effects of the pandemic on statistics make the comparison with 2019 particularly interesting. Using this calculation, these are the activities in which salaries have grown the most since then: information services (39.1%); veterinary activities (37%); consultancy (24%); other scientific and technical activities (23%); advertising and market research (22.8%); real estate activities (21.9%); associative activities (20.8%); creative, artistic and entertainment activities (19.7%); public administration (18.7%); and administrative activities (18.3%).
The sectors that pay the best
The sectors that stand out for losing purchasing power in 2023 are at the top of the list. That is, beyond variations, they are the ones with the highest remuneration. The leader is energy supply (63,077 gross euros per year), followed by coke and oil refining (62,108), financial services (58,990), the tobacco industry (57,960), the manufacture of pharmaceutical products (45,720), the manufacture of other transport material (45,311), insurance and pension funds (45,001), telecommunications (43,788), air transport (42,333) and radio and television programming and broadcasting activities (42,050).
These salaries are much higher than the average for the economy as a whole, which is 26,556 euros per year. The ten lowest salaries are well below this figure, which are found in building services and gardening activities (13,877), food and drink services (14,012), other personal services (14,930), social services activities without accommodation (16,367), sports, recreational and entertainment activities (16,644), care in residential establishments (17,197), retail trade (18,926), leather and footwear industry (19,097), veterinary activities (19,149) and postal and courier activities (19,692).
It is worth noting that this INE statistic does not include domestic workers (who earned 11,772 in 2022, according to the EPA) or those in agriculture (17,724), two of the sectors with the worst salaries in the economy.
Below you can see the salaries of all sectors and how they have grown since 2019. CNAE numbers are maintained for easier identification.
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