Experts recommend a 4.9% minimum wage rise in Spain for 2027

On 4 November, an expert panel advising Spain’s Labour Ministry recommended a 4.9% rise in the minimum wage for 2027. It would lift the rate from €1,221 to €1,281 a month over 14 payments. The government has not approved the proposal.

Labour Secretary of State Joaquín Pérez Rey called unions and employers to a meeting that day to hear their views. The government must consult them, but it does not need a deal to set the wage. It can set the rate by royal decree. It says it wants approval before the election on 29 November. If approved, the new rate could start on 1 January 2027.

The proposed rate and its basis

The current minimum wage is €1,221 for each of 14 payments, or €17,094 a year. La Vanguardia reports a yearly total of €17,934 for the proposal, while Expansión gives a gross total of €17,931.62.

The committee says the rise would protect buying power. It points to year-on-year price growth of 4.9% in September, the final figure, and 4.9% in October, an early estimate. The panel also says its rate would meet a European Social Charter goal: the minimum wage should reach 60% of average pay.

The proposal assumes the wage stays free of income tax in 2027, as the government intends. elDiario.es calls the €60 monthly rise net. If tax did apply, La Vanguardia estimates an 11% rise to €18,891 a year. elDiario.es gives a separate estimate of €1,356 gross a month.

Unions seek more as employers object

UGT and CCOO want at least a 7% rise. Their request would set the wage at €1,306.50 over 14 payments, or €18,290.58 gross a year. They say the price rise backs their demand and want employers barred from offsetting the increase with other pay supplements.

The employers’ groups CEOE and Cepyme oppose approval before the election. CEOE leader Antonio Garamendi has criticised the timing. The employers last backed a minimum-wage rise in 2020, when it went from €900 to €950 a month.

The current rate followed a 3.1% rise approved in February and backdated to 1 January 2026. CCOO and UGT agreed to that rise, while employers did not. elDiario.es says about 2.5 million workers receive the minimum wage directly.

The committee says there is too little data to show how many workers lose gains when employers adjust supplements. The final rate, tax rules and start date remain open.

Sources: Diario de Cádiz, Expansión, La Vanguardia, elDiario.es and El Mundo.