The negative effects of the coronavirus pandemic on companies were clear before, but now the strong impact of this crisis on domestic economies has also become clear. And according to the latest data released by the National Institute of Statistics (INE), one in three people in the Community of Valencia is at risk of poverty or social exclusion, representing a 2.4 percentage point increase from 2019, before covid had yet appeared. The data are even worse if you take into account that only seven autonomous regions have higher enrollments, a phenomenon that both experts and unions attribute largely to low wages.
The social risk or exclusion rate was created in 2010 to measure relative poverty in Europe, extending the income-only poverty risk ratio concept to other factors such as severe material and social deprivation. employment density. Taking this preface into account and according to the latest published statistics, Valencian Community offered a rate of 30.6% in 202129.7% compared to the previous year and 28.2% in 2019. An increase that clearly coincides with the pandemic period and highlights the impact of this crisis on homes.
It so happens that the Valencia rate is three points higher than the national average, and this only seven autonomous regions above. The worst figure was Ceuta (43%), followed by Andalusia and Extremadura with 38.7%; Canary Islands with 37.8%; Melilla with 35.2%; Murcia with 33.8%; and Castilla-La Mancha with 32.5%. On the opposite side are Navarra with 14.7% and Basque Country with 16%, with the lowest rates.
Regarding the average income per capita, that of the Community of Valencia is 11,237 Euros, placing it in the twelfth position of the cluster of autonomous regions. In this ranking, the Basque Country is the country with the highest income with 15,544 euros, while Extremadura is at the bottom with 9,500 euros.
Another remarkable fact about the Valencia region is that 7.1% of people find themselves with serious financial shortcomingsCompared to 11.5% in 2020 and 4.8% in 2019. The decrease recorded last year will be related to the assistance provided by different Administrations to deal with the effects of the health crisis.
In addition, according to information provided by INE, it highlights: 7.8% of the citizens have difficulty in living, 13.6% difficulties and 26.4% specific difficulties. The rate of those who easily consume the bear is only 20.2% and the rate of those who use it very easily is 3%.
There are other concepts related to everyday situations that further illustrate the scope of the problem. a) Yes, 35% of the population cannot go on vacation for at least one week a year3.4% cannot eat meat, chicken or fish at least every other day, and 15.5% find it impossible to keep their house at a suitable temperature. Likewise, 32.3% did not have the capacity to face unforeseen expenses, 11.4% had delays in paying expenses related to the main residence such as mortgage, rent or natural gas and municipal bills, 6% were unable to own a car . and 6.6% cannot afford a personal computer.
And beyond the evidence of the pandemic itself, what explains this alarming fact? Ignacio Jiménez Raneda, an economist and professor emeritus at the University of Alicante (UA), notes that due to the lack of a comprehensive analysis of the data, the figures recently “show that there are social groups whose economic situation is improving”. distinctly, while other segments of the population stagnated or even worsened“Behind this fact, according to Jiménez Raneda, are problems such as the low wages that prevail in unskilled jobs.
Union centers are stronger. Paco García, CC OO’s general secretary at l’Alacantí and Les Marines, points out that the high risk of poverty and social exclusion is a general evil in the state of Alicante, but that It has a particular incidence in areas such as Vega Baja, Marina Alta and Marina Baixa.“Only – he points out – the most touristy places with poor quality employment and low wages. Also, the interior spaces are being emptied in these regions due to the lack of infrastructure”. It is worth noting that all this, combined with the inflation that started to rise last year, brought about this result. For CC OO rep “solution, improve the quality of jobs and wagesThat’s why we bet on concepts like digitalization and innovation”.
Low salaries, to be exact, A union mobilization in preparation for 6 JulyIt will consist of holding concentrations in front of the headquarters of the Valencian Community Business Confederation (CEV) in Valencia, Castellón and Alicante. As Ismael Senent, UGT’s general secretary in Muntanya-Vinalopó-Vega Baja, explains, “we are facing great resistance from employers to raise wages despite raising the prices of their products”. The union leader adds “we don’t let workers lose their purchasing power and we came back to pay the price of the crisis, so we decided to take action”.