Gross annual wage. By sex and percentile

The Annual Wage Structure Survey (EAES) in an operation performed annually by the National Statistical Institute (INE) and is the result of the combination of different statistical and administrative sources, the purpose of which is to obtain comparable results regarding the structure and distribution of wages in the years that the Wage Structure Survey (EES) (every four years) is not conducted. Therefore, the results issued for 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2018 come from the Wage Structure Survey, while the results of the rest of the years come from the Annual Wage Structure Survey.

The main objective of both operations is to determine the gross annual earnings per worker, classified by different variables:

• Sociodemographic variables as sex, age and nationality.
• Variables related to occupational characteristics as type of working day, contract, the activity sector and the type of occupation carried out by workers.

Information related to the distribution of wages is also derived from these surveys using, among others:

• The median. The wage value whereby one half of the population earns less than this value and the other half more.
• The percentiles. The wage value which, when ordering the wages of workers from lowest to highest, has a determined percentage of workers beneath it.

From the publication of the 2013 Annual Wage Structure Survey, information is also added on the distribution of wages. This enables studies to be carried out on wage inequality.

The population scope of the EAES constitutes all workers who are employed by others and provide services to their respective enterprises, regardless of the number of workers in each unit. Excluded are company presidents, members of the board and in general any personnel who are not paid in some form of regular salary but by commissions or profits. The population scope of the Wage Structure Survey coincides with the Annual Wage Structure Survey from 2006.

As far as what sectors are concerned, they may be from industry, construction and services. Until 2007 activities related to public administration, defence and compulsory social security, domestic personnel and extraterritorial organisation and bodies were excluded. Therefore, it includes those centres with economic activities comprised from C to K and M to O in the Catalan Classification of Economic Activities, CCAE-93 Rev1. From 2008 onwards, the new Catalan Classification of Economic Activities 2009 was implemented, which included workers belonging to the General Social Security Plan under in section O: public administration, defence and compulsory social security. For this reason, the 2008 results are not comparable with previous years.

The EAES is a statistical operation that is obtained through the combined processing of the Social Security General Affiliation File and Form 190 statements: the annual summary of withholdings and advance payments on personal income taxes by the State Tax Administration Agency (AEAT), along with such variable as occupation and workday, which are provided by the survey attached to the Quarterly Labour Cost Survey.

All wage concepts are collected in gross values, in other words, before any withholdings were made, such as income taxes or Social Security contributions.