The Bank of Spain knocks down the complacency of the Government: "We are the great economy of the euro that has done the worst"

• Crisis Brussels lowers Spanish growth to 4% this year, three tenths less than the Government

• Crisis The employment data fuels the Government's doubts in the calculation of GDP made by the INE

Spain is far from recovering the levels of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) prior to the pandemic.

As much as the President of the Government,

, highlights, as he did this Wednesday in Congress, the good progress of employment;

that the tax collection chains historical maximums, as the Treasury always exposes;

or that from the Ministry of Economic Affairs it is transferred that the economy is doing better than what the GDP marks, the truth is that this reference is clear.

And what it also shows, as the Bank of Spain affirms without showing any hint of doubt, is that

than any other of its European peers since the crisis caused by the pandemic began.

"

", affirms the director general of Economy and Statistics of the Bank of Spain,

, during the previous presentation of the Annual Report of the organism that is published today.

"In the first quarter of the year, the level of activity in Spain was 3.4 percentage points below that observed before the pandemic, while, in the euro area as a whole, GDP exceeded 0.4 percentage points its pre-crisis level", the document states.

And Gavilán, in addition, announced that the BdE is going to proceed in June to further lower its forecasts for this year, which for now foresee a rebound of 4.5% by 4% of the European Commission, given that in the first three months of the year there has been "

".

The reasons why Spain accumulates this delay are various and well-known, starting with the "

" in the Spanish economy or "

".

On this second point, it is basic that "households have barely used the accumulated savings bag," adds the agency.

Or rather, that "higher income households, which are the ones that have saved the most, did not resort to this saving", while lower income households would have released part of those funds although "it may be due to the rebound in energy prices affects this group more".

Gavilán also

that the successive crises have changed the structure of the economy, that the GDP is perhaps no longer registering the economic situation well and that the situation is better than which shows that reference prepared by the National Institute of Statistics (INE).

In fact, he pointed out that yes, employment is recovering better although with great disparities by sector and that the restrictions derived from the pandemic could even have caused a greater hiring of personnel for the same tasks.

He also pointed out that part of the increase in collection could be circumstantial, as a consequence, for example, of the increase in inflation.

And he ended by warning that

.

Labor reform, inflation and pensions

On the labor reform, the person in charge of the BdE was also cautious.

Or, at least, not as euphoric as the Government.

He stated that "in recent months, permanent hiring has accelerated and temporary hiring has been reduced", but added that "it

definitive impact".

Regarding inflation, which he anticipated will go even

, he explained that it is especially hitting low-income households, those with a lower educational level and those over 65 who are especially vulnerable.

And about pensions, he was clear in asking that pensioners be part of the income pact, that is, that

, as the Government has promised.

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