Ofelia Marín-Lozano | We started 2022 with inflation significantly higher than it had been since the 2008 financial crisis. We began to spend the savings accumulated during the pandemic, as a result of the fall in consumption due to activity restrictions. As an indication, the average American over the last ten years used to spend 93% of his or her salary each month; during the pandemic, he or she spent…
For the first time in history, the Labour Inspectorate has called three days of strike action to protest against the “serious shortcomings” of a body that has still not been strengthened despite the commitments made by the government. A year and a half ago, the Ministries of Labour – on which it depends – and Finance and Public Function – responsible for the management of public employees – signed an…
The Ministry of Finance and Public Administration reached an agreement with the trade unions on Monday to launch the largest public employment offer in the history of the General State Administration, with 29,578 vacancies. As reported by the Independent Trade Union and Civil Servants (CSIF), the General Union of Workers (UGT) and Comisiones Obreras (CC.OO.), the negotiated offer does not include the State Security Forces and Corps, the Armed Forces…
The wage bill of Spanish public administrations exceeded all historical records last year. According to the official INE National Accounts figures published today in the newspaper El Economista, in 2021 the amount of salaries of public sector employees (civil servants along with other categories of public sector staff) plus their payments for social security contributions amounted to 147.363 billion per year. And with inflation soaring, everything points to the fact…
According to the daily Expansión today, the commercial debt of Spanish public administrations with their private suppliers rose to 7.6% of GDP in the third quarter of 2021: “A study by the firm Estudio Económico shows that the commercial debt of public administrations grew by 19.907 billion euros in the third quarter of 2021, 28% with respect to the same period of the previous year. The total figure would stand…
As reported by Elena Ramón in the newspaper Expansión, Correos, Adif, Renfe and Paradores are extending their losses for another year. However, all of them assure they will increase revenues next year. The General State Budget for 2022 presented by the Government forecasts that Aena and Enaire will return to profit next year and join Puertos del Estado and Loterías, two entities which are resisting all setbacks. But Renfe, Adif,…
Ofelia Marín-Lozano | Spain’s public deficit stood at 5.18% of GDP, missing the target set by Brussels (4.2%) by one percentage point. So the deficit should not be higher than nominal GDP growth, which can be estimated at around 3% in the long term.
MADRID | A frozen fish processing company from Galicia, in the north of Spain, was recently awarded the Green Card by the US’ Food and Drug Administration. The FDA isn’t exactly easy-going, but the Spanish firm has already access to the US market and extensive presence in Europe, including Russia. The news isn’t a surprise, of course: the Spanish food industry is successfully competitive, its exports have risen by 8.4…
Unless the Spanish government tackles the reform of the State administration, it is bound to follow the fate of Greece, Ireland and Portugal. Any positive impact of hints coming from the European Central Bank about lending a hand to maintain the country’s access to the markets will eventually fade away. Indeed, it is happening again. Most analysts in the financial City of Madrid said so in as many words in…
MADRID | Nobody seems to pay much attention to bad news these days. The stock market shows a bullish bias, recovering from the lows it plunged into driven by fears of utter collapse. Yet, recession has intensified its slide, the second quarter showing a 0,4% GDP decrease. With no prospects of redressing the downturn till the middle of next year, at the best, future outlook doesn’t provide much room for optimism….