Labor costs and wages rise by 3.8% to record levels in 25 years

The labor costs of companies in Spain increased by 3.8% compared to the same quarter of 2024, reaching €3,124.55 per worker per month, as well as by 1.0% compared to the last quarter of 2024. This is evident from the data from the Quarterly Labor Cost Survey (ECTL) for the first quarter of the year, published by the National Statistics Institute. Thus, the amount that employers must pay per worker continues its upward trend, accumulating 17 consecutive quarters of increase , and experiencing its highest value in a first quarter since 2000.

On the other hand, wage costs increased by the same percentage, 3.8%, to €2,290.46 . Mandatory Social Security contributions, which represent the main component of the so-called "other costs," also increased, in this case by 3.9%.

Regarding costs per effective hour, these stood at €23.60, a 2.2% increase. Meanwhile, costs per paid hour also experienced a considerable increase, rising by 3.6% to €20.63.

Regarding the sectors of activity that saw the greatest increase in labor costs, Energy Supply is the sector that saw the sharpest increase, up 7.6% compared to the same quarter of 2024, to €7,856.29. Water Supply is close behind, with a 7.1% increase, to €3,530.28. Education , on the other hand, recorded a 6.4% increase, to €2,825.42.

On the other hand, the sectors that have seen more limited increases are Healthcare Activities, up 1.5% to €3,076.93 , and Artistic Activities, up 1.0% to €2,080.81. Only one sector, Public Administration, saw a decrease in labor costs, of 0.8% to €3,504.79.

Looking at the data breakdown by Autonomous Community, the Balearic Islands, Extremadura, and the Valencian Community were the regions with the largest increases in labor costs this quarter. Meanwhile, Cantabria, the Principality of Asturias, and Aragon were the regions with the smallest increases.

Another data point worth reviewing is job vacancies . These have grown to 152,885 in the first quarter, 2,923 more than in the same quarter of the previous year. In the last quarter of 2024, 148,018 job vacancies were recorded, after a slight decline, but the figure has rebounded again during the first quarter of 2025. Similarly, 87.6% of these vacancies are in the services sector, with residual percentages of 8.4% for industry and 4.0% for construction.

The regions with the highest number of vacancies were Catalonia, the Community of Madrid, and Andalusia. La Rioja, Cantabria, and the Principality of Asturias had lower numbers of vacancies.