Wage costs rose more than 5% in the first quarter, driven by the service sector and the hotel industry, where wages are close to SMI, with recovery more rapid. Nine out of ten job vacancies are in the service sector.

The recovery of the economy after the passage of covid is creating the effect of increasing the labor cost of companies by increasing the working time and eliminating the effect produced by ERTE even in 2021. ace, average labor cost Per employee and month (includes wages and social contributions) and 4.7% The National Institute of Statistics (INE) reported on Thursday that in the first quarter of the year in relation to the same period of 2021, to stand at 2,729.01 euros.

The data still compares with a period in which the Spanish economy did not end up leaving the crisis triggered by the pandemic, something it did in the second quarter of 2021 from a labor standpoint, with a strong take-off in activity.

But the time elapsed between the end of the covid crisis and the lack of inflation control has been very short. With an increase in prices from 6.5% to 8.5% Pressure on wage and labor agreements since January, total cost of first time worker Over 2,000 euros, up to 2,006 euros.

The rate of increase in costs is particularly notable in the service sector, where both labor and wage costs grow at a higher rate than in industry and construction. Both items are low in the service sector, where all kinds of activities are included with the hotel industry and tourism aiming to cover the first high season under normal conditions this year as the core sector.

as, in general salary costThat includes basic pay, bonuses, overtime, and extraordinary and delayed payments, measured in gross terms, have increased and 5.2% In the annual rate, going from 1,907.82 to 2,006.61 Euro per employee and month. If delayed and extravagant payments are excluded, the increase is almost a point lower, at 4.3%, which widens the gap as prices rise.

The average salary cost in the service sector has not yet reached those 2,000 euros and yet, starting from a lower base, it has grown 6.1% over the past year to an average of 1,979 euros per employee. The hotel industry has raised this ratio by 68% to EUR 1,150 per employee, which is very close to the SMI level. If wage costs per hour worked are addressed, the hotel industry gives way to other activities in the service sector, such as financial and real estate services, where these ratios are three times that of bars and restaurants. In manufacturing, growth is more moderate, touching 4% And in industry, with wage costs, which are 16% higher than services and reach 2,292 euros per employee per month, they increased by 2%.

The INE report for the first quarter of the year also reveals a significant increase in the number of vacancies in Spain, where registered unemployment in the first quarter exceeded three million people. If 2021 ends with 109,000 vacancies, the first quarter 2022 133,000 . ended withWhich is higher than the figure recorded in 2013, when the unemployment rate was 25.3%.

Due to the distribution of activities typical of the Spanish economy, most of these vacancies are in the service sector, but it is in industry and construction where there are fewer companies that say they do not need more workers and where hiring costs are a problem. Is..