Salaries in Tenerife and in the other Canarian Islands rank among the lowest in Europe, a fact that has been known for some time.
Wages in Tenerife and the Canary Islands have multiplied by nine since 1978, yet they remain below the average. The gross annual salary on the islands is 31,495 euros, below the national average of 35,580 euros, and far behind the autonomous region of Madrid, which at 40,605 euros has Spain’s highest salary.
The wage gap between the salaries of employees in the autonomous communities, between the highest and lowest average wages, has decreased by more than 15 percent since the adoption of the constitution in 1978 to just under 24%.
Wage Gap
Salaries in Tenerife and the rest of the Canary Islands have multiplied by 8.8 times in the democratic period, which has now lasted 44 years. Between 1978 and 2022, the gross annual salary rose from 3,596 euros to 31,495 euros, but this increase still falls below the average for Spanish wage earners at 35,580 euros, and even further from the gross wages of employees in the autonomous region of Madrid, at 40,605 euros.
Narrowing Differences
The long series of economic and demographic criteria for the Spanish regions over the last seven decades has recently been updated by the Fundación de Estudios de Economía Aplicada (Fedea). Up to 2022, the data has been updated and now shows that the average wage of Spanish workers has almost multiplied by ten. It also shows that differences still exist between the various regions, but these are significantly smaller than at the beginning of the transition.
Slow Decrease
Adding up the 15.5 percent decrease in the gap between 1955 and 1978 and another 15.2 percent between 1978 and 2022, the gap in 67 years between the highest and lowest average has decreased by less than half. This slow and steady convergence between the lowest and highest average salaries in the different areas is due to the larger increases in the communities with the lowest figures.
Increases
Between 1978 and 2022, the wages of employees in Extremadura have multiplied by 11.4, those of employees in Castilla-La Mancha by 10.9, those of employees in Valencia by 10.5, and those of employees in Andalusia and Murcia by 10.2. In contrast, the average wage increased 8.5 times in Asturias, 8.8 times in the Canary Islands, 9.1 times in Madrid, and 9.2 times in Aragon and the Balearic Islands.
The increases are much higher compared to the low wages of 1955, and in this case, they are greater in regions with lower wages. The average wage has risen 329 times in Extremadura, 315 times in Castilla-La Mancha, 270 times in Andalusia, 256 times in Murcia, 254 times in the Valencian Community over seven decades. In the Canary Islands, this has only happened 250 times. Less than other regions and this partly explains the lag in the wages of workers in Tenerife and the other Canary Islands.
The current income of several professions
Guy Devos © AI Illustration
Salaries in Tenerife ©
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