Spanish public sector paying higher salaries than private firms

The best-paid jobs in Spain are in activities linked to energy supply, finance and insurance, as well as information and communications, according to a survey by the National Statistics Institute (INE) released Friday.

The survey, which covers 2010, divides earnings into 10 levels, with the lowest category for wages of below 718 euros a month and the highest of over 3,257 euros. The lowest earners are domestic helpers, those employed in hostelry, and administrative workers, as well as some involved in the entertainment business.

The key factor in determining wage levels is education and training. Those with low skills are in the bottom five levels of the scale, while better trained workers are in the top five. The clear case is that of employees with doctorates, 55 percent of whom receive a minimum monthly wage of 3,257 euros. The figure in 2009 was 57 percent.

In general terms, the percentage of workers in the top decile has fallen since 2009, while there is a greater concentration of employees in the lower salary categories, an outcome consistent with the expected impact of the economic crisis. The survey also distinguishes between public and private sector workers. The majority of public sector workers are in the higher wage categories, something that INE attributed to the fact that their jobs in areas such as healthcare and education require greater skill levels.

Of total public sector workers, 44 percent are in the top two deciles, earning a minimum of 2,516 euros a month. That compares with only 14 percent for employees in the private sector. However, while the percentage of public sector workers in the top two categories fell last year, there was a slight increase in the case of private sector employees.

The survey also shows that women tend to have lower-paid jobs regardless of whether they work full- or part-time. The percentage of female employees in the lowest two wage categories is 31 percent, compared with only 10 percent for men. The pattern is the same for the top two wage categories, which include 24 percent of male workers, compared with only 16 percent in the case of women.

Foreign workers and young people also tend to occupy the lower rungs of the wage ladder.

By region, Madrid and the Basque Country have the highest concentration of workers in the top salary category, while Valencia, Murcia and Andalusia have the biggest percentage of workers at the bottom of the wage scale.