2023 was not a good year for workers’ pockets, and the purchasing power of the majority decreased for the second year in a row. Although after two bad years (especially 2022), 2024 appears to be a year when salaries can break this dynamic and regain much of the purchasing power lost during the price crisis. Inflation remains moderate in 2023, and different research institutions predict that inflation will follow the same path next year.
Meanwhile, social agreements reached between patronal And unions They call on companies to maintain minimum levels that allow the majority of employees to partially improve their situation. In parallel, predictions is hiring Although employment will increase significantly less than in 2023, which is one of the records, positive views remain. What is expected to happen in 2024 regarding wages and employment?
How to increase the minimum wage?
Spain will start 2024 with a new one interprofessional minimum wage (SMI) It was frozen when the government had to extend (in 14 installments) the 1,080 gross euros in force since last year, as it had previously been unable to reach an agreement either with social actors or within the coalition itself. to negotiation. The increase figure considered by the Ministry of Labor is 4 percent, which increases this reference. 1,123 euros per month. This 4% is halfway between the employer (3%) and the union (5%) offer, and it remains to be seen whether both will accept it for the sake of a three-way agreement.
But Labor is struggling within the Government. tax authorities Providing assistance to public tenders that are particularly affected by this wage increase. Currently, three million workers such as domestic workers, delivery drivers, cleaners or seasonal workers, among others, are waiting to see when and what their salaries will be. The government’s commitment is to apply the increase retroactively. 1 January.
How much will salaries increase with collective agreement?
For the first time in decades, employers and unions are scrupulously complying with the collective bargaining agreements reached. A few days later in spring first day of mayCEOE reached an agreement with CCOO and UGT on salary increases for the 2023-2025 period. Top representatives of social actors called on sectoral negotiators to complete their collective agreements with wage increases of at least 10% within three years. 4% for 2023 and 3% for 2024 and 2025 respectively.
Collective agreements currently signed in 2023 confirm the revaluation of salaries. 4.1%According to the latest records of the Ministry of Labor. Although agreements completed in subsequent years and in force in the current period reduce the global wage change figure to 3.5%. This means that at the end of 2023, the majority of employees still lose purchasing power.
On average, everything is diluted above current inflation levels. This allows the majority of workers to regain some of the purchasing power lost last year, which meant a deep decline in wages. The forecast is that prices will continue their moderate course next year and wage increases will remain similar to current increases or slightly more limited.
How much will civil servant salaries increase?
Civil servants lost their purchasing power in 2023 as their salaries increased by 3 percent and inflation closed the year with a 3.5 percent increase. Same as minimum wage, but for other reasons civil servants It will start 2024 frozen. The government was not included in the last omnibus decree. minister council Revaluation of public employees for 2023. This is despite the fact that an agreement has been reached on this issue with two of the three most representative unions in the Civil Service. Civil servant salaries should increase %2. If the CPI between 2022 and 2024 is higher than the increases accumulated in that period, another 0.5 percent may be added to this percentage.
“The government will comply with the agreement reached with the unions. If it does not allow time, 1 January they will get it in character retroactive“, they say from the Ministry of Finance. What can be saved in two ways? Either through a royal decree, approved in the coming weeks, mandating the redrawing of January payrolls to include the increase. Or General budgets of the state As for 2024, parliamentary procedures are still pending, which will delay the salary increase until the spring. The Government should then approve a ‘paguilla’ to compensate for the increases pending since 1 January.
What are the companies’ hiring forecasts?
HE labor market Closes in 2023 extraordinarymanaged to exceed most actors’ expectations. The dark clouds that some sectors predicted for this year have not yet materialized at the workforce level, and companies have recorded unprecedented levels of hiring. So much so that, for the EPA, there were more than 21 million active workers in Spain during the summer months. An unprecedented statistical milestone.
As all good things come to an end and crazy highs reach their peak Social Security Although employment developed positively, the increases recorded in the first half of the year were not sustained at the same intensity in the second period. Occupancy record continues in Spain slowdown It’s clearly visible month by month in the membership data. The predictions for 2024 are that this cooling will continue. Fewer jobs will be created, but this will remain a positive and the most pessimistic research institutions will speak of further stagnation rather than job destruction across the board.
How do freelance wages change?
three million self-employment You will see how your social contributions will change from now on 1 January. The wages paid by the self-employed will increase month by month for those who make the most profit from their activities and decrease for those who earn more modest returns. The change will be automatic and SGK will automatically collect the payment in the last week of January, as every month. Although organizations representing the group recommend that self-employed people periodically review how their income and expenses have changed to avoid the Treasury demanding more or less large payments in the next income tax return. What is popularly known as ‘getting fucked’.
The system agreed upon between the executive and social actors has a phased structure, and the contributions to be paid during the first three years, that is, from 2023 to 2025, are managed by a system consisting of 15 sections. Every year the fee for the section in question changes, increasing its graduality: whoever gets more returns pays more; and vice versa. In 2024, the minimum wage will decrease by 5 euros and the highest wage will increase by 30 euros.