Business · Economy · 7 hrs ago
Essential costs in Spain have risen far faster than wages since 2019
In Spain, average pay rose 24% from 2019 to mid-2026, according to an analysis by the trade union Comisiones Obreras (CC OO).
Over the same period, fuel prices rose 74% and housing prices 60%, while food costs climbed by 40 percentage points.
The union says many essential costs have risen two or three times faster than wages, putting workers’ purchasing power under pressure.
Prices first surged after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and wages later recovered some lost ground through pay rises and stable employment.
A spring 2026 conflict triggered by US and Israeli attacks on Iran has again put fuel markets under strain.
Large companies’ operating profits rose 65% in nominal terms, and their average margin on sales increased from 11% to 12.8%, figures CC OO says point to higher profitability as well as rising costs.
The union warns that recent gains in purchasing power are at risk, but the information provided does not say what action will follow.
Spain’s average wage rose 24% from 2019 to mid-2026, while some essential costs increased by twice or three times as much, according to a report by the Comisiones Obreras union.
Liquid fuels rose 74% and housing prices 60% by the second quarter of 2026 compared with 2019.
Food prices increased by 40 percentage points over the same period, despite falling in recent months.
The union says rising raw-material and energy costs were not the only drivers of inflation, and that large companies also increased their profitability.
A new rise in fuel-market pressures following conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran threatens to erode gains in workers’ purchasing power.
- Who
- Spain’s workers and households, discussed in a report by the Comisiones Obreras union.
- What
- Essential costs have risen much faster than average wages since 2019.
- When
- From 2019 to mid-2026; the cost figures are compared with 2019.
- Where
- Spain.
- Why
- The union points to inflation, including higher energy and raw-material costs, and says some companies increased profitability.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The start of the war in Ukraine drove up energy and fuel prices, reducing households’ purchasing power.
Wages had recovered much of the purchasing power lost before 2019, according to the union.
Conflict following the United States and Israel’s attack on Iran put renewed pressure on fuel markets.
Liquid-fuel prices were 74% higher than in 2019, while housing prices were 60% higher.
The average wage had risen 24% since 2019.
- Average wage increase
- 24% from 2019 to mid-2026
- Liquid fuels
- 74% more expensive in the second quarter of 2026 than in 2019
- Housing prices
- 60% higher in the second quarter of 2026 than in 2019
- Food prices
- Increase of 40 percentage points since 2019
- Large companies’ gross operating surplus
- Rose 65% in nominal terms, from €207 billion to an annualised average of €342 billion
- Margin on sales
- Rose from 11% to 12.8%