In 2025, collective bargaining pay increases in the Balearics were the highest in Spain, this trend having continued into the first quarter of 2026.
From January to March there were 21 agreements affecting almost 230,000 employees. The average pay increase was just under four per cent. The national average was 2.9%. Last year, the average increase in the Balearics was 5.6%, whereas the average nationally was 3.5%. Agreements in 2025 included those for the hospitality industry and bus drivers. Among agreements yet to come this year are those for the retail sector and private healthcare.
Figures from Spain's National Statistics Institute point to the salary costs per worker per month in the Balearics having been €2,602 in the last quarter of 2025. These costs can typically be up to 30% above gross salary. For Spain as a whole, the average in October to December was €2,531.
Despite the region having recorded the highest salary increases for at least 15 months, José Luis García, general secretary of the CCOO union in the Balearics, says: "Reality is telling us that economic growth is not enough to bring about improvements for the working class, even with pay increases through collective bargaining that are above the national average. We are able to achieve significant increases in the main sectors that affect a large part of the working class, but these are completely insufficient due to the price surge."
This coming Friday is Labour Day. Planned protests by the unions include condemnation of the war in the Middle East, although housing and pay will be the main focus. "We're seeing it with the cost of groceries, and now even more so because of the war. But we were already experiencing very high inflation." So far in 2026, the price of food products in the Balearics has risen by over three per cent and above the national average.
The general secretary of the UGT, Pedro Homar, says the problem of the added costs of insularity is even more evident in the provision of state public services. "We have empty offices, a brain drain of civil servants, and unfilled positions. And a housing allowance that is completely outdated given the socioeconomic reality of the Balearic Islands."
A recent report from the CCOO states that the average salary in the Balearics - around €23,100 gross per year - is €8,500 short of what it costs to cover basic household expenses. Economic growth and a robust labour market, with unemployment at record lows, are insufficient to guarantee access to housing for the majority of the population.
Studies point to the Balearics having the highest average monthly rent in the country - €1,676 - and the second highest average price for purchase: €3,988 per square metre (Madrid has the highest).