"Wages keep falling in Spain"
Average wages have risen +28.2% since 2008. 10 consecutive years of growth.
Average wage 2008
21,883.42€
Average wage 2023
28,049.94€
+6,166.52€ more per worker per year. Data from INE, not pundits.
The only period when average wages fell was 2012–2013, in the middle of the crisis. Since 2014, rising every year without exception.
Wages vs Inflation (2008–2023)
Índices normalizados a 2008=100 para comparar evolución relativa, no niveles absolutos.
Sources: INE — EAES (tabla 10882) · INE — IPC (tabla 22350)
Why you don't feel it
Inflation does not reduce wages in euros. It reduces what those wages buy.
Since 2008, wages have risen +28.2%. Prices have risen +28.9%. Real purchasing power: -0.5%.
"Earning more" and "living the same" can coexist. Not a contradiction: it's arithmetic.
Full series 2008–2023
| Year | Average wage |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 28,049.94€ |
| 2022 | 26,948.87€ |
| 2021 | 25,896.82€ |
| 2020 | 25,165.51€ |
| 2019 | 24,395.98€ |
| 2018 | 24,009.12€ |
| 2017 | 23,646.50€ |
| 2016 | 23,156.34€ |
| 2015 | 23,106.30€ |
| 2014 | 22,858.17€ |
| 2013 | 22,697.86€ |
| 2012 | 22,726.44€ |
| 2011 | 22,899.35€ |
| 2010 | 22,790.20€ |
| 2009 | 22,511.47€ |
| 2008 | 21,883.42€ |
About this data
- * Average gross annual wage of employed workers
- * Includes workers registered with Social Security for more than 2 months
- * Nominal data (not adjusted for inflation)
- * Homogeneous series from 2008 due to change to CNAE-2009
- * Data for each year is published two years later
- * CPI: annual average of the general index (base 2021=100), rebased to 2008=100 for comparison
Are wages falling? No. Does it go as far? Also no.