As shown by numbers, families have cut back on everything from cars to food.
This month, an Adecco study on wages showed that Spain’s real income had dropped more than any other country in the EU. The country has seen a significant drop in people’s ability to buy things and how much they buy.
Even though the average monthly wage went up by 4% in 2022 to €1,822 ($2,029), data showed that rising inflation had eaten away at buying power, now 7% lower than in 2008 during the global financial crisis.
Last month, headline inflation was 1.9%, down from 10.8% in June 2022. But rising food prices, which have been increasing by more than 10% a year, are still hurting Spanish families, even though core consumer prices are decreasing.
Manuel Hidalgo, an economist and senior fellow at the Esade Centre for Economic Policy, said, “The economy is doing well, but when you look at it in detail, the picture is not that bright.”
“You may be growing faster than the rest of the continent and creating more jobs with the lowest inflation, but if families can’t make ends meet, they will blame you.”
Data showed that disposable household income was 2.4% lower after the pandemic than before it because of high inflation and slow economic growth, which were only partly offset by modest wage increases.
Families in Spain have reduced spending on various goods and services, such as cars, trips abroad, and food. The country’s Agriculture Ministry says that people ate 7% less meat and 12% less fish in April than last year.
Between September and March, family spending in the fourth-largest economy in the euro area fell by a shocking 6% annually.
