Wages rises on the Costa del Sol, but not as high as prices

Collective agreements see a 2,6% average wage increase, but the average shopping basket prices have gone up by 3.4%.

Price rises in the average shopping basket have shown signs of levelling out over recent months along the Costa del Sol. In July, the increase in prices slowed to 2.9%, the slowest increase rate since October 2021 when it was just 1.5%, that was, of course, before the outbreak of war in Ukraine, according to the National Institute of Statistics.

Price rises slowing, but so are salary increases

In the Malaga province, the upward curve in an average shopping basket price increase, is still a little more pronounced than most other areas of the country, in general. But why is Malaga becoming more expensive? Due to hikes in electricity, alcohol and tobacco, as well as an average of 5.1% in prices at restaurants and bars, something we have a lot of, compared to other parts of the country where this increase was less notable.

Collective agreements between unions and employers have led to a general increase in wages of 2.6%, but still slightly less than increases in the rest of the country. And compared to the Consumer price index increase of 3,4%, Costa del Sol workers have seen a reduction in their purchasing power.