Spain was one of the seven countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD, the think tank of the world's most developed economies) where last year the rise in taxes on wages far outstripped the increase in salaries, resulting in a loss of real income. The calculation, however, does not take into account the value of the public services citizens receive, which are funded by taxes.

In a year like 2025, with record stock market gains, the main executives of the Ibex companies, the main benchmark of the Spanish equity market, overwhelmingly earned very significant incomes, further widening the gap with the average earnings of their staff. The link between remuneration and stock performance contributed to boosting the incomes of many senior executives. A clear example was Manuel Manrique, president of Sacyr, who topped the rankings by earning 32.6 million euros, 384.59% more than the previous year, thanks to a bonus for the company's stock market rise since the pandemic. As a consequence of this plan, this executive, one of the founders of Sacyr, multiplied his remuneration of around 6.7 million from 2022, 2023, and 2024. The fact is that Manrique's remuneration was 628 times the average earned by the company's staff, which is around 52,000 euros, according to the directors' remuneration report published by this company.

How much should presidents be paid? In Catalonia, it has historically been decided that the salary of the President of the Generalitat should be among the highest in the State. In fact, for years the President of the Generalitat has occupied the first position in the ranking. Carles Ramió, a professor of political science at Pompeu Fabra University, warns that the debate about politicians' salaries tends to be full of demagoguery and points to the need to have well-paid public servants to attract talent and avoid pernicious dynamics. Furthermore, he recalls that all figures are gross, meaning that tax withholdings make the net figure substantially lower.The draft budget for 2026 foresees that the salary of the head of the executive, Salvador Illa, will increase by 6,378.88 euros, rising from the 140,256.96 euros he received last year to 146,635.84 annually. To put this into perspective, the Basque Lehendakari, Imanol Pradales, second in the ranking, receives 117,243.14 euros, while the president of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, in third position, earns 103,090.32 euros. The gap is even wider when we look towards Moncloa: the President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, has a salary of 95,943.96 euros, almost 51,000 euros less than Illa.This hierarchy is also maintained at the second tier. A minister of the Generalitat of Catalonia earns 130,049.36 euros, exceeding the 104,512.94 euros of a minister from the Basque Country or the 103,080.48 euros of their Madrid counterparts.Beyond the Government: where are the highest salaries found?If we look at the legislative chambers, the presidencies of the Cortes Generales and the Parliament of Catalonia represent the highest peaks. According to data from the remuneration registry, the president of the Parliament of Catalonia, Josep Rull, will receive 151,995.48 euros in 2026, while in Spain, the president of the Congress, Francina Armengol, earns 230,911.66 euros and the president of the Senate, Pedro Rollán, earns 191,240.42 euros.However, where are the highest salaries in the public sector? In Spain, public companies and regulatory bodies top the list. The three highest salaries are practically identical and correspond to the presidency of Loterías de l'Estat (252,474.97 euros), SEPI (251,242.18), and CESCE (251,530). In Catalonia, while the artistic director of the TNC, the general director, and the president of Ferrocarrils top the podium with 125,001.76 euros, these do not exceed the president's figures.Change of mind"I will make a commitment: I will lower the salary of the President of the Generalitat to the highest salary of a regional president other than Catalonia, which is that of the Lehendakari. It is a 30% reduction, to be close to the people." This was one of the proposals made by Salvador Illa during the 2021 election campaign. Although he was the most voted, he could not govern in that legislature, and in the following election campaign, that of 2024, he no longer repeated this commitment.In 2021, the president's remuneration was at its historical maximum, 153,236 euros, with Quim Torra at the head of the Generalitat. His successor, Pere Aragonès, , bringing it down to 130,251 euros. Since then, it has been revalued to maintain purchasing power.Faced with criticism for this change of opinion, Illa defended himself last Wednesday in Parliament, stating before the Plenary: "The increase [foreseen in the budgets] is what has been applied to all public servants in Catalonia, and I am a public servant of Catalonia." This increase is a result of the application of the legal framework that links the salaries of senior officials to the increases agreed for all civil servants.Paying little can be expensiveThe debate about public salaries is not just a matter of figures. Ramió warns that demagoguery about low salaries has a hidden cost: the difficulty in attracting competent managers. According to the political scientist, "for every two or three proposals they make for a minister, they often say no" because, fundamentally, "compared to the market and considering the responsibility, the salary is very low." If the public sector is not competitive, Ramió states, it risks being left in the hands of unprofessional profiles.Ramió also warns of two other risks associated with low salaries. When pressure and responsibility are extreme, but the remuneration is "ridiculous," it opens the door, in his opinion, to corruption. And, as a final reflection, he invites us to consider the model of the "rich politician" who doesn't need a salary, personified by Donald Trump. He ironically states that if the goal is to pay the minimum, "the best president in the world is Donald Trump, because he only earns a dollar a year." But the risk of this mirage is high: "What do we want? For politics to be done only by the rich?"

It is still unknown what role Yolanda Díaz will play in the upcoming state elections. It is clear, however, that after relinquishing her leadership of the left wing of the PSOE, she will leave behind a legacy of seven years at the head of the Ministry of Labor, if the general elections are held in 2027. A union source closely involved with the government does not hesitate to describe the agenda of reforms and measures promoted by her ministry as a "turning point" in 2021.

Everyone has a general idea of ​​how their salary compares to their peers. But do you really know if your salary is high or low compared to the rest of the population in your region, any other region, or even in Spain as a whole? We offer a calculator that will allow you to discover how many people earn more and less than you and where your income falls in relation to the national and regional salary scales. Here it is:

The Ministry of Labor and the UGT and CCOO unions, but not the employers' associations, have agreed this Thursday to raise the minimum interprofessional wage (SMI). 1,221 euros gross in 14 paymentsThis represents a 3.1% increase compared to 2025. It's a rise of 37 euros per month, as announced by the Secretary of State for Labor, Joaquín Pérez Rey. The Council of Ministers will soon approve the salary increase, which will be retroactive to January 1st of this year. The employers' associations CEOE and Cepyme have distanced themselves from the agreement and rejected the increase, as anticipated in the statement released Thursday morning, in which they labeled the tax deduction in corporate income tax for the companies most affected by the pay increase as "deceptive" and "interventionist." According to the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Labor and the unions agree that this salary level will remain exempt from personal income tax.

Exceptional growth in wages for entry-level workers over the past year, especially those working in small businesses, has resulted in this group gaining purchasing power compared to 2007: while accumulated inflation over the last 19 years is 43.5%, the wages of entry-level workers have increased by 45.89%, to 28.

For years, the explanation for almost everything in economics was the cycle. We were doing badly because the cycle was bad. We were doing well because the cycle was helping. 2025 has served to dismantle that excuse. The Spanish economy is no longer trapped in a temporary downturn. On the contrary. It is growing above the European average, has managed to reduce inflation without destroying jobs, and has normalized the financial environment without major disruptions. And yet, the public perception is one of stagnation, not to mention hardship and hardship.

Sant Cugat del Vallès is the municipality with more than 50,000 inhabitants that registered the highest average salary income in 2024, with 54,549 euros gross – more than 22,000 euros above the Catalan average of 31,746 euros. It is followed by Castelldefels (38,570 euros) and Barcelona (36,466 euros), and Cerdanyola del Vallès, Granollers, Vilanova i la Geltrú, and Sabadell also have salaries above the average.

The productivity growth of Catalan workers was significantly higher than that of employees in the Community of Madrid, and also much higher than the Spanish average, according to 2024 regional accounting data published this Tuesday by the National Statistics Institute (INE). According to this agency, Catalan productivity improved by 1.82%, while that of Madrid workers increased by only 0.04%. The Spanish average stood at 1.20%. In contrast, workers in Madrid were much better paid than their Catalan counterparts. The average salary in Madrid was €46,850 per year, while in Catalonia it was €43,411. The INE includes all types of compensation received by the worker in the average salary, whether in cash or in kind, overtime pay, and social security contributions. In both cases, the average salary was significantly higher than the national average of €40,514 per year. In the ranking of highest-paid workers, Madrid takes first place (€46,850), followed by the Basque Country (€45,321), Catalonia (€43,411), and Navarre in fourth place (€43,109). At the other end of the spectrum, the lowest average salary is in Extremadura (€33,695), behind Murcia (€34,573) and Andalusia (€35,505). Another aspect covered by the INE (National Institute of Statistics) is the growth in investment, which, according to the latest data from Idescat (Statistical Institute of Catalonia) It has become the main engine of the Catalan economyThus, according to the INE (National Institute of Statistics), investment in Catalonia in 2024 grew by 7.1%, the same percentage as in the region presided over by Isabel Díaz Ayuso, and two points above the national average (5.1%). In fact, the regions where investment grew the most last year were Ceuta and Melilla (9.7%), Cantabria (8.8%), and Catalonia and Madrid (7.1%). Investment fell in only one region, La Rioja, with a decrease of 1.7%.

At the entrance to the CCOO headquarters in Madrid, there is a plaque marking the birthplace of the union's current general secretary, Unai Sordo (Barakaldo, Basque Country). The immense plaque CCOO, of the Basque Agustín Ibarrola Goicoechea (1930-2023), presides the hall contrasting with the gray concrete. "Ibarrola was a much-loved figure," Sordo recalls. The union leader receives ARA shortly after Junts announced its veto of some of the Spanish government's laws.

Inflation in the years immediately following the pandemic eroded household purchasing power, and in most advanced economies, wages have yet to recover. According to a report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD, the umbrella organization of the world's major developed economies), by the third quarter of last year, wages had recovered to the purchasing power they had in 2020 in only 12 of the 33 most advanced countries.

Labor costs—the cost to the company of each employee, including salary and other expenses such as social security contributions—closed 2024 at historic highs in both Catalonia and Spain, according to a survey published Monday by the National Statistics Institute (INE). Specifically, labor costs in Catalonia averaged €3,483 at the end of the fourth quarter, after increasing by 2.6% compared to the last quarter of the previous year, while in Spain as a whole they averaged €3,258 per month, a 3.6% increase.