grew 2.3% in the third quarter, half that of last year
The salaries earned by Spanish workers continue to grow quarter by quarter, but they do so at a slower pace. According to the Harmonized Labor Cost Index (ICLA) published by the National Institute of Statistics (INE) this Tuesday, The salary cost per hour worked paid by companies grew by 2.3% in the third quarter compared to the same period last year. The total labor cost (which includes, in addition to salaries, expenses such as social contributions paid by the company), increased by 2.4% per hour worked compared to the previous year.
The data shows that The pace at which salaries are rising has slowed considerably in the last year. If we go back to the third quarter of 2024, salaries – corrected for seasonal and calendar effects – rose at a rate of 4.6%. A rate that doubles that observed in the latest available data.
In fact, since that date, salary increases have been moderating without stopping and salaries They have already accumulated four consecutive quarters of deceleration. In the last three months of 2024, hourly compensation increased by 3.7% year-on-year, at the start of the year the increases moderated to 3.4% and slowed to 3.3% in the second quarter.
The 2.3% year-on-year increase recorded in the third quarter is the lowest figure since the end of 2021when the economy was immersed in the recovery process after the pandemic. Salary increases were accentuated in response to the inflationary crisis caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Salaries per hour worked grew at a rate of 5% in the third quarter of 2023, but since then the trend has been towards moderation.
The salary dynamics in 2024 and 2025 have allowed workers recover a part of the purchasing power lost due to the inflationary crisis. The data provided by collective agreements, labor cost statistics and tax data from large companies anticipate salary increases of between 3 and 3.8% in 2025 as a whole. Figures that would be enough to beat inflation that in November stood at 2.7% on average in the last year.
The consensus of analysts indicates that The Spanish economy will continue to grow next year driven by family consumptionalthough it will do so at a slower rate than in 2025. Consequently, salaries are expected to continue improving although they will do so more slowly. For example, Airef forecasts anticipate a salary increase of 2.7% per employee next year, sufficient in principle to beat inflation forecasts.
By sectors
At the sector level, the jobs where hourly pay increased the most worked were transportation and storage (6.9%), administrative activities and auxiliary services (6.5%) and construction. In these three sectors, salaries, far from slowing down, have accelerated in recent quarters.
Notable salary increases were also recorded in sectors with high added value such as information and communications (4.7%) or the professional, scientific and technical activities (4.4%). The manufacturing industry, with a salary increase of 3.1%, closes the list of activities that are growing above average.
Below the national average, activities such as trade —where hourly wages increased 2.2% in the third quarter— hospitality (2.2%); he electricity and gas supply… (1.4%); the supply of water, sanitation and waste (1.2%), the education (0.7%) and the sector real estate (0.2%).
In addition, there are up to four activities where the remuneration per hour of work has been reduced compared to the third quarter. It is about the artistic, recreational and entertainment activities (-0.1%), finance and insurance (-0.2%), public administration and defense (-1%) and health and social services (-1.2%).
