Miguel Navascués | After reaching 22,169 euros at the end of 2019, Spanish per capita income had fallen to 19,429 euros by end-2020, a level very similar to that of 2015 (19,348 euros).
Per capita income, or GDP per capita, depends on GDP growth and population growth, obviously. GDP growth depends, as we know, on the productivity growth of all factors, i.e. investment, technology, and the number of employees.
Which of these aspects is failing in Spain so that we cannot even follow in the footsteps of the EU? They are all failing. Firstly, Spain has the highest unemployment rate in Europe, 14.5%. Secondly, Spanish productivity has been stagnating and even falling in recent times: Spain has already regained its pre-COVID employment level but GDP is still 6% below. So we already have the esssential element to explain why our per capita income is so disappointing over the decades: because of high unemployment and low productivity which is stagnating… and falling.
