What would happen if Spain had found the miraculous solution? The Spanish economy benefits from an exceptional dynamic with a GDP that increased by 3.5% in 2024, against 1.2% for France. In 2025, the government again provides a 2.7% dynamic growth (against a 0.8% prognosis in France according to INSE).
In recent years, Spain has considerably increased its minimum wage. In 2019, the Government decided to increase 22%. In general, since 2015, the Spanish minimum wage has taken 82%, in France, the increase is 24% (even since 2015). Germany’s example is also interesting, with an increase in the minimum salary of 50% since 2015. In both cases, these increases do not seem to have had any significant negative effect on employment, even if Germany has not experienced growth.
To recover dynamic growth, should France make Spain and increase the minimum wage? According to economist Eric Dor, the solution is not so simple because the situation differs between countries, especially in two criteria, the cost of labor and productivity.
Higher labor cost in France
First, it should be remembered that France is the fifth country in the euro zone with the highest minimum wage, at 1,802 euros gross, behind Luxembourg, (2,704 euros), Ireland (2,282 euros), the Netherlands (2,246 euros), Germany (2,161 euros) and Belgian (2,112 euros).
With respect to Spain, the minimum wage has certainly increased considerably, but from an extremely low level in 2015. Therefore, even after a strong increase between 2015 and 2025, it remains much lower than that of France (1,381 euros gross, against 1,802 in France in 2025).
In addition, the cost of labor is also lower in Spain. In 2024, an hour of work (in the industry or commercial services) costs the employer on average an average of 25 euros, against almost 44 euros in France, according to Eurostat data. This figure includes gross salary, as well as networks of subsidy networks received.
On the German side, salaries (minimum wage and average salary) are higher than in France, but “the difference in employer’s social contributions is so strong that the total wage cost remains almost the same as in France” Eric dor points.
“The absolute need to increase productivity”
To go even further, we can be interested in productivity and, therefore, the wealth created by an hour of work. It is quite high in France, at a level comparable to that of Germany and much higher than Spain.
“The value added per hour of a company is necessarily the upper limit that the average work schedule of the employees can be achieved there, to avoid the loss of operations,” explains Eric Dor. In other words, if the company pays its employees more than they bring, it will make losses.
In Spain, productivity is certainly lower, but the relationship between the created added value and the salary is greater, so the margin of increasing employees is greater. In detail, the labor cost per hour of the commercial sector represents 59% of the gross added value per hour of work in Spain, compared to 74% in France, in 2024.
In order to increase wages, according to Eric Dor, we should be able to reduce the social contributions of the employer and/or increase labor productivity. However, it is difficult to reduce the contributions of the employer in view of the reticence of the population to reduce public spending on Social Security. “
To achieve this, it evokes the implementation of initial and professional training policies and incentives for investment in new technologies, which also increase labor productivity.
Source: BFM TV
