The income of Alicante families remains at the bottom of Spain despite the province's economic growth

The growth of Alicante's economy "does not translate" to Alicante families or SMEs. This is the stark observation made by the Institute of Economic Studies of the Province of Alicante (Ineca) after analysing the results of its Socioeconomic Situation Report for the province of Alicante for the second quarter of 2025.

Ineca's president, Nacho Amirola, has noted that this economic improvement "has not been transferred to families and businesses." According to Amirola, despite the province showing "remarkable dynamism in business creation and affiliation, it still has structural limitations in size, financing, and salaried employment, which reduces the growth reaching workers and small entrepreneurs."

"Business activity shows significant foundational dynamism that contrasts with profound structural fragility, as the average capital per new company is low," explains Amirola, pointing out that affiliation "continues to add record figures with varying intensity, as salaried employment loses momentum while self-employment shows superior and sustained growth, reflecting a weakness in the business fabric to generate quality salaried employment and forcing self-employment."

A situation observed in Alicante's salaries. According to the report, the province ranks 47th nationally in the average contribution base for workers in the general regime. One of the last positions, although it advances two places compared to previous quarters. However, the provinces of the Community, Valencia and Castellón, are much higher, in 23rd and 22nd place, respectively.

Per capita income remains one of the province's major weaknesses. Amirola has reaffirmed that Alicante "needs a strategic reorientation to seek new vectors of productive development aimed at improving the average capital that enhances the survival of new societies, financial strengthening, and economic diversification to sustain growth and improve provincial welfare."

Regarding per capita income, Alicante stands at 23,507 euros in 42nd place, an indicator that, despite improving two positions compared to 2022, is 7,469 euros below the national average. This difference is much greater and rises to 19,153 euros when compared to Madrid, the province with the highest per capita income.

The critical point identified in the report is the Alicante financial system, which notes a significant setback compared to the previous quarter, which had seen a growth of almost 10%. It is currently unknown whether this is a trend or a one-off event given the current global uncertainty. The drop in individual deposits is more than 1.86 billion euros from one quarter to the next, a decrease of 4.5%.

In this regard, the director of Studies at INECA and author of the report, Francisco Llopis, added that "the province faces a financial crisis due to an unusual outflow of deposits and signs of a cooling real estate market, although it still maintains international tourism momentum. This dynamic artificially improves the credit/deposit ratio but indicates a worrying reality: Alicante is losing relevance as a savings centre, with flows redirecting to other financial centres."

Regarding foreign trade, the province has recorded a slight increase of 2.1%, also surpassing the slight national decline (-0.4%). Fruits and vegetables once again lead exports with more than 700 million, holding back the decline in footwear. On the other hand, imports have increased by 4.6%, a third of them originating from China.