The year unfolds with prices rising modestly, while wages lag behind. This article supplements recent data updated on Monday. According to the Ministry of Labor, salaries determined by collective agreements are rising at about 2.6%, yet consumer prices have surged by around 9% in the same period. The broad slowdown in collective bargaining since the onset of the Covid era has led to very few contract renewals, and the number of workers covered by active collective agreements remains at a low point in recent years. When signings occur, they tend to come in small increments that leave employees with diminished purchasing power.
The current wage-control environment remains the prevailing trend through 2022, driven more by labor resistance than by worker preference. After a nine-month blockade, unions have mobilized to counter this generalized erosion of purchasing power. A notable example is the metal sector in Barcelona and Tarragona, a cornerstone of the Catalan economy with about 200,000 employees. They conducted strikes in the final week of October, signaling a broader protest movement that could culminate in a large demonstration in Madrid at the start of November.
About half of all deals signed thus far propose wage increases in the 1% to 2% range, well below the CPI. In many industries and companies, salary reviews at year-end remain rare, focusing instead on maintaining existing pay levels relative to price growth. Data from the Bank of Spain indicates that only around one quarter of deals consider aligning wages with inflation by year-end.
Where unions retain greater membership and bargaining leverage, wages tend to rise a bit more—yet they still rarely catch up with price increases. Department of Labor figures show wages for workers covered by company contracts rising about 2.9%, compared with 2.6% for industry contracts. However, company contracts cover only a small share of the workforce, roughly 6.5%.
The private sector’s wage growth remains softer than contract terms for now, with uncertainty about how the year will finish. In the public sector, civil servants have seen a 3.5% wage increase this year, reflecting an agreement among the executive branch and major labor unions last week. Projections for pensions point to a substantial rise, with government estimates suggesting around 8.5% next year.
Currently, wage regulation coexists with rising demand for vacancies as job postings climb. The job portal reported a total of 248,367 vacancies in September, marking a 21% rise from August and a 5% increase year over year. These vacancies reflect companies’ plans to fill roles that were vacant or newly created in the period.
Looking at sector-specific roles, information from JobInfo portals shows that trade and sales (17.7%), customer support (11%), and purchasing, logistics, and warehouse positions (10.7%) represent the largest shares of vacancies in September. Among the three, they account for nearly 40% of positions advertised on the platform during that month. These figures illustrate how demand for frontline customer-facing and logistics roles continues to shape the employment landscape, even as wage growth remains constrained by broader price pressures and bargaining dynamics.