The various increases in the Interprofessional Minimum Wage (SMI) approved in Spain since 2018 would have involved the destruction or the non-creation of about 238,000 jobs up to 2025, according to a report released this Wednesday by the Instituto Juan de Mariana (IJM) and prepared by the economists Diego Sánchez de la Cruz and Santiago Calvo López.
The document, titled "Spain, the red lantern of employment in Europe. Labor Flexibility Index 2026", argues that the cumulative 66% increase in the SMI between 2018 and 2026 —from 736 to 1,221 euros per month in 14 payments— translates into a real improvement of 29% in the minimum income, while the most common wage (modal) would have lost 18.5% of purchasing power in that same period.
According to the analysis, this process has notably narrowed the distance between the modal wage and the legal minimum, which has gone from 6,675 euros per year in 2018 to only 644 euros in 2024, generating a "wage flattening from below" and a notable increase in the cost of the labor factor. For 2026, the total cost for the company of a worker who receives the minimum wage is, according to the study, 22,330 euros per year, more than 2,030 euros for each month actually worked.
The IJM emphasizes that the most pronounced effect on employment is concentrated among workers with the lowest qualifications. Between 2018 and 2025, the special agricultural scheme of the Social Security lost 138,842 affiliates (-17%) and the domestic employees’ scheme recorded 67,641 layoffs (-16.5%). The center denounces that these groups are left out of the survey used by the Government to calculate the reference average wage with which the SMI increases are justified.
At the bottom of Europe in labor flexibility and leader in unemployment
In its macroeconomic analysis, the report places Spain in last position (27 of 27) in the Labor Flexibility Index of the European Union drawn up by the institute itself, with a score of 1.9 points out of 10, compared to a community average of 5.2 points led by Ireland (7.8), Hungary (7.2) and Malta (6.7).
In terms of temporary hiring, Spain obtains a score of 0.0, by appearing as the country with the strictest regulation among the 22 Member States evaluated by the OECD (2.91 points out of 6).
IJM links this regulatory framework to high unemployment figures. Spain would have closed 2025 with an unemployment rate of 10.5%, the highest in the EU, above the European average of 6% and countries such as Greece (8.9%).
In the youth labor market, the unemployment rate reaches 24.9% —the second-worst record after Romania—, while among women it stands at 11.9%, the highest percentage in the Union. According to the report’s estimates, if Spain converged with the European average unemployment rate, 1.12 million additional jobs would be created and a fiscal improvement of 19.400 million euros per year would be achieved (1.2% of GDP) thanks to higher revenue collection and lower spending on benefits.
Statistical "makeup" and the cost of absences from work
The study also calls into question the official reading of employment figures. In September 2026, there were 802.600 job seekers with an employment relationship who do not appear as registered unemployed (mostly inactive fixed-discontinuous workers), which represents a 246% increase compared with 2018.
The authors point out that, although registered unemployment fell by 755.000 people between 2019 and 2025, if these job seekers are included the actual decline in unemployment is limited to 163.000 people, so almost 80% of the official drop would be due to a "statistical reclassification".
Likewise, the report calculates that every day 1.6 million salaried workers are absent from their jobs, 1.2 million of whom are in sick leave. This phenomenon would have an economic impact of up to 129.000 million euros per year, the equivalent of 8.1% of GDP.
Coinciding with the general strike called for this 11 November —described in the document as a protest of "evident political motivation" for having been held two weeks before the elections on 29-N—, IJM also examines the financing of CCOO and UGT.
According to the study center, both trade union organizations and their related entities received 106.1 million euros in public funds in 2025 and add up to 511.6 million between 2022 and October 2026, concentrating 86.1% of the total trade union aid granted in Spain (297.1 million for UGT and 214.5 million for CCOO).