The cost of salaries marks its highest level in the last 23 years, reaching an average of 2,117.80 euros in the third quarter

The upward path taken by labor costs more than two years ago continues to lengthen. According to data published this Monday by the National Institute of Statistics (INE), the cost of salaries has grown by 4.2% in the last year to reach an average of 2,117.80 euros per month in the third quarter of 2023, its highest mark in the historical series at this time of the year. In this way, the remuneration of workers and the rest of the costs associated with it advance in a context marked by the moderation of prices, although inflation continues to be in the focus of monetary authorities such as the European Central Bank (ECB). , which last Thursday pointed out with concern precisely to the effect of salary increases.

The increase in salary costs has not been homogeneous in all sectors. In real estate activities, in the information and communications sector and in artistic and entertainment activities, the increases exceeded 7.9%, while in hospitality the salary cost has barely risen by 4.1% to 1,368.84 euros per month, the lowest amount of all sectors. At the opposite extreme, the highest salaries are those paid in the supply of electricity, in the financial sector, in information and communications and in the extractive industries, exceeding 3,000 euros per month in all of them.

By expanding the fence and taking into account not only the direct remuneration of employees, but also social contributions and the rest of the associated costs, the increase with respect to the level of expense borne by companies when employing their staff is expanded.. And the rest of the non-wage costs have grown by 7.2% in year-on-year terms, standing at an average of 774.93 euros per month per worker. The most important component is Social Security contributions, which have amounted to an average of 724.95 euros per month.

In this way, the labor cost as a whole has grown between July and September until reaching an average of 2,892.73 euros per month per worker, the highest figure in the historical series for a third quarter.. This is an amount 5% higher than that recorded last year at the same time, when it stood at an average of 2,754.75 euros. It is the eleventh consecutive quarter in which labor costs have increased, although in recent months it has done so more moderately, after growing 5.8% year-on-year in the second quarter and 6.2% in the first.

All these increases are above the evolution of prices. Inflation rebounded at the end of the third quarter to an interannual rate of 3.5%, although it remains far from the levels of a year ago. UGT has positively valued this margin in salary increases, which, when compared with the behavior of prices, translates into an increase in the purchasing power of workers, after two years of reduction. The union has asked in a statement that salary increases above the CPI variation persist, an increase that they consider “crucial” so that employees can recover the purchasing power lost in previous years and to reinforce economic growth.

Far from the applause of the unions, the president of the ECB, Christine Lagarde, expressed concern last Thursday about domestic underlying inflation, that is, that which takes into account the prices of products produced within the eurozone, excluding energy and unprocessed foods. These prices, according to Lagarde, are highly conditioned by the wage increases that European workers are negotiating.

Regarding working time, the average agreed weekly working day is 35.3 hours, considering full-time and part-time contracts together.. Of that total, an average of 6.2 hours were not worked due to vacations or holidays and 1.3 hours due to temporary sick leave and other permits. If overtime is added and these lost hours are subtracted, the effective working hours per week drop to 27.9. The reduction of the working day is precisely one of the points included in the PSOE and Sumar government pact.

More than 155,000 vacancies

Likewise, the INE has also reported that in the third quarter there were 155,797 vacant jobs in Spain, the highest figure since 2013, when records began.. 90.2% of these vacancies are in the services sector, mainly in Public Administration (35.04%), commerce (9.4%) and health (7.98%).. By territorial distribution, the majority of free spaces are concentrated in Madrid and Catalonia, which accumulate 33,656 and 31,242 vacancies respectively.. At the opposite extreme, in Cantabria and La Rioja there are only 449 and 658 respectively.

Based on these figures, UGT has denounced that the “high volume of vacancies” is due to the precariousness of many jobs offered and the lack of a powerful public intermediation that puts people seeking employment in contact with the companies that provide them. they request, as well as the lack of active employment policies that guide the unemployed person and improve their employability. For this reason, the union has urged the Government to undertake a profound reform in active employment policies, in order to guarantee guidance and monitoring services that meet the needs of unemployed people, especially the long-term unemployed.