Unions and employers' associations warn that housing is the "black hole" of the Catalan economy.

BarcelonaYesterday he was the president of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, who warned that housing could become a "burden" for the economic growth of Catalonia, and this Tuesday, the majority unions and employers' associations—through the Catalan Economic and Social Council (CTESC)—have compared this crisis to a "black hole" for the country's economy. The advisory body of the Generalitat (Catalan Government) has presented its socioeconomic and labor report for 2024, in which it places special emphasis on this issue. Its president, Ciriaco Hidalgo, who took office last April, insisted that if this housing shortage "has an impact on the well-being of families, it also has an impact on the economy."

The document compiles the main statistics on this area—and many others—on a Catalan scale and includes 148 recommendations for the Government, such as creating social housing with "a higher-density urban planning model, and with a model of concessions in exchange for guaranteed rent collection." On the other hand, the CTESC values the will of the Catalan executive to build 50,000 public housing units by 2030However, it believes this should be complementary to the goal of reaching 9% of the housing stock. Regarding rental assistance for young people, it urges complementing this support with specific policies to promote affordable housing for this group, especially in urban areas.

The report, the result of a consensus among social stakeholders, highlights that Catalan GDP grew by 3.6% last year; Hidalgo also noted that a record number of Social Security affiliations was broken. an indicator that continues to rise in 2025"It's been a long time since we've provided data like this," argued the Minister of Business, Miquel Sàmper, who participated in the presentation.

Despite the positive news for the labor market, the CTESC (Central Employment Service of Catalonia) also issued a warning to the Generalitat (Catalan Government): the number of job openings managed by the Public Employment Service of Catalonia (SOC) fell by 10.2% compared to the previous year, "indicating that difficulties in capturing vacancies in the labor market persist." Therefore, the agency has recommended increasing the number of vacancies and companies using these offices to find workers. "An essential tool would be the mandatory publication of vacancies," as already provided for in Spanish employment law. In response to this demand, the Secretary of Labor of the Catalan Government, Paco Ramos, recalled that the SOC is in the midst of a "transformation process" and that work is underway to make it "a benchmark" for companies attracting talent.

Financing and budget execution

The CTESC (Cultural Council of Catalonia) also asserted that at the current time, it is "more necessary than ever" for Catalonia to receive "fair, unique, and unbiased funding." "We must say this very clearly and repeatedly," Hidalgo emphasized. In this regard, the president of this advisory body claimed that the level of budgetary execution in state infrastructure is "reprehensible" and recalled that in 2023, the Spanish government only invested 48.8% of what was planned in the Principality, the fourth lowest figure in the last 20 years. "It has reached levels of public criticism and also has very clear impacts on the country's development," he added.

Furthermore, Hidalgo recommended that, if this inefficiency is not corrected, "resources and responsibility" be transferred to the Generalitat (Catalan Government). Specifically, the CTESC has pointed out that this lack of investment in railway infrastructure has caused a "very serious impact on competitiveness," since, for example, in 2023, the tonnage of goods transported by this means fell by 18.7%.