The Basque Country, at the head of employment quality and salaries in the Spanish State

• The Basque Country stands out as the autonomous community with the highest average salary and is second in terms of highly qualified occupations.

The Ramón Areces Foundation and the Ivie have presented their report “Quality of employment in Spain and its autonomous communities”, a study which includes the construction of a synthetic index of regional employment quality.

In terms of overall employment quality, the Basque Country ranks in first place, ahead of Madrid, Catalonia, Navarre and La Rioja – all of which boast indices which are above the state average.

Employment Quality Index. Autonomous communities. 2007 and 2022 (Index: Spain 2007 = 100)

The employment quality index has been drawn up using 18 indicators grouped into five different dimensions: security and ethics; salary and perks; employment duration and work-life balance; safety and protection; training and motivation.

In terms of salaries, the Basque Country occupies the first position with an average annual salary of 31,064 euros, 1551 euros more than Madrid which is in second position.

Average annual earnings per worker. Autonomous communities. 2007 and 2021 (euros in 2021)

With respect to advances in employment quality, the report stresses the increase in the percentage of highly qualified occupations, which stands at 35.3% of overall employment in the Spanish State. In the Basque Country this figure rises to 41.7%, which puts it in second place behind Madrid.

Percentage of workers in highly qualified occupations. Autonomous communities. 2007 and third quarter of 2023 (Q3 2023)

Source: Serrano, L. (dir.), Á. Soler y F. Pascual (2023). La calidad del empleo en España y sus comunidades autónomas. Madrid: Fundación Ramón Areces.