Laurence Dollimore
ANDALUCIA is among the worst paying regions in Spain, new figures have revealed.
According to the Adecco Group, while wages in the southernmost region rose 0.9% in the last quarter of 2019, it still placed 14th out 18.
The average monthly salary in Andalucia is €1,495, which is 0.8% lower than the height of December 2009.
It means people in the autonomous community were earning more over a decade ago, before inflation and surging living costs.
In fact Andalucia joins Murcia, La Rioja and Castilla-La Mancha for entering a second year of purchasing power deterioration.
The average person is in these communities is losing €140 worth of purchasing power each year.
Meanwhile, the number of long-term unemployed in Andalucia remains higher than the national average at 32.5%, although that is the lowest it has been since 2012.
The number of people receiving the paro (unemployment benefit) has also increased to three out of every four person out of work, amounting to 553,000 people.
Madrid and the Basque Country pay their workers the most with a joint average salary of €1,990 per month.
They are followed by Navarra on €1,848 while Catalunya comes in fourth on €1,811.
The lowest paid workers live in Extremadura, where the average monthly salary sits at €1,375.
Murcia (€1,450) is the second-lowest followed by the Canary Islands (€1,477), Castilla-La Mancha (€1,492) and Andalucia respectively.
