Employees in the province of Jaén are at the bottom of Spain's salary rankings, with an average gross annual income of just €17,792. This figure starkly contrasts with the national average gross salary of €29,540, creating an annual gap of approximately €12,000 for Jaén's workers.
At the regional level, the average gross salary in Andalusia stands at €26,090. This means an Andalusian worker is, on average, 13% poorer than the Spanish average. These figures are derived from the Salary Structure Survey, compiled by Comisiones Obreras (CCOO) based on data from the National Employment Institute (INE).
CCOO chose Jaén, the province with the poorest indicators, to present this report. Despite a 4.7% salary increase in Andalusia (reaching €2,174 per month over twelve payments), the pay gap with the rest of Spain, which saw a 5.3% increase (to €2,462 per month), continues to widen year after year.
“"The gap is even wider when we talk about women, as while the average salary for Andalusian men is €17.32 per hour, for women it is €16.22, representing a wage gap of 6.8%, two tenths more than in 2023. The report shows that the greatest inequality between women and men occurs among the lowest salaries."
The report also indicates that the largest salary disparity with the national average is found in the 25 to 34 age group, where Andalusian salaries would need to increase by 22% to match those in the rest of Spain. In this younger segment of the working population, salaries have even stagnated.
The general secretary of CCOO of Jaén, Silvia de la Torre, lamented the province's poor employment data, with an average salary of around €17,792 gross annually. This is particularly concerning in a context of economic growth, not crisis. "Under no circumstances can subsistence wages continue to be tolerated," she stated.
Meanwhile, the Secretary of Employment and Social Action, Joaquín Armenteros, denounced the province's structural deficit. Although industry contributes between 12% and 14% to Jaén's GDP, it generates significantly less employment than in other territories and is concentrated in low-wage sectors such as olive oil production.
Armenteros called for urgent reindustrialization in heavily affected areas like Linares and La Carolina, focusing on sectors with higher added value. He warned that the lack of collective agreements that raise specialized salaries, despite the push for the minimum wage, is causing an alarming brain drain of engineers towards Granada or Córdoba.
Regarding collective bargaining, the union demands salary increases that surpass the current inflation rate. He cautioned that a raise equivalent to the 3% CPI is insufficient to halt the loss of purchasing power. In this regard, CCOO will intensify pressure due to the employers' lack of willingness to negotiate the VI Agreement for Employment and Collective Bargaining (AENC).
