Spain’s average wage stalls while the country’s fashion market stagnates

Spain’s average wage stagnates. Workers in the country earned on average 23,156.34 euros per year in 2016, only 0.2% up from previous year. The poor raise contrasted with the 0.7% and 1.1% increases registered in 2014 and 2015, respectively. Nevertheless, the median Spanish salary was 5.8% higher than in 2008, when workers in the country earned 21,883.42 euros per year.

The weakened growth rate posted by average salaries in Spain takes place while the country’s fashion market has come to a standstill. In fact, Spaniards spent 450 euros on average in clothing, footwear and accessories in 2016, 17.5% less than they did in 2009, despite overlapping with the financial crisis’ peak. Nine years ago, fashion expenditure amounted to 545 euros per year, according to Euromonitor data collected by EAE Business School.

However, taking Spanish households’ data, spending on clothing and footwear grew by 3.4% in 2016 to an average of 1,429 euros. It marked three consecutive years of growth, according to the latest data released by the Spanish National Institute for Statistics (INE). In spite of the positive evolution, expenditure is still much lower than the pre-crisis levels, when it amounted to 2,052.9 euros.

By age groups, the highest average wage is found among the oldest citizens, between 55 and 59 years old, with a medium annual income of 27,282.41 euros, followed by those in their early fifties, with 25,917.68 euros. Spaniards aged 45 to 49 years are in third place, with an average pay of 25,127.54 euros.

On the opposite side, the lowest salaries are found among the youngest inhabitants. In fact, Spaniards’ income remains below the average until age 39. Thus, people aged 20 to 24 earn annual wages of 11.316 euros, while those between 25 and 29 years perceive a medium salary of 15,876.26 euros. Average pays raise considerably among Spaniards in their early thirties, who get paid 19,339.25 euros.   

On another front, the salaries’ gender gap in Spain persists. The most common annual income among Spanish men is 27,518.4 euros, while that among women is 18,345 euros. Despite the gap, there’re huge differences even within genders. 36.8% of men in Spain earn less than 18,345 euros, while in the case of women the ratio reaches 55.5%. Annual wages above 55.000 euros per year are reality just for 4.9% of women and 9.8% of men in Spain.