These are findings from Eurostat. While in neighboring countries real wages have risen by 27% (France) and 26% (Portugal), in Spain they have only grown by 6% over the last 30 years.
This explains why, while the Spanish government boasts that Spain is the fastest-growing country in the Eurozone—driven by half a million immigrants per year, public debt growing at 4.7% annually, and NextGen funds that are not reaching businesses—Spaniards still cite the “economic crisis” as one of their primary concerns.
The Productivity Trap
Economist Marc Vidal explains that the underlying problem lies in low productivity:
“The gross value added per hour worked in Spain today is at the same level the Eurozone was at in 1998.”
This translates into “a quarter-century of accumulated productivity lag,” a gap that widens when looking at the growth rate: while in OECD countries productivity per hour worked increases at an average annual rate of 1.2%, in Spain it barely reaches 0.5%.
Wages versus Pensions
Vidal dismisses the wage increases announced by the government as “fireworks” that fail to address the structural issue. The data is stark:
- Young adults between 25 and 30 years old earn 20% less today than their parents did at the same age.
- In contrast, a new retiree now takes in 43% more than the youngest worker in the labor market.
This situation leads to a bleak conclusion that Vidal summarizes bluntly: “In classic Spanish, the system rewards leaving it more than being in it.”
Summary
In his view, there is a political interest—such as in the Congress of Deputies—to focus on “gross figures” rather than utilizing European funds to modernize the country’s economic structure.
In short, the GDP is growing, yes, but only because the population is growing. The slice of the pie to be shared is exactly the same as it was 30 years ago.
