Half of Spaniards Believe the Spanish Economy Has Improved During This Legislature

The Spanish economy has improved since 2023 according to half of the citizens. When asked about their perception since the start of the current legislature, 50% of Spaniards consider that there is an improvement, while 40% believe it has worsened and 9.5% say it remains roughly the same, according to the Cluster17 survey for Agenda Pública.

Responses also reveal fairly strong opinions in both directions. 26.3% consider that the economy has improved “a lot” and another 23.6% that it has done so “to some extent.” On the opposite side, 27.7% believe it has worsened “a lot” and 12.2%, “to some extent”. The overall result is favorable, but more than half of respondents concentrate on the two most emphatic answers.

“26.3% considers the economy has improved «much» and another 23.6% that it has done «some»”

The economy is also the only area of the set of indicators about the legislature’s tenure that yields a clearly positive balance, as had been previewed. In employment, wages and working conditions, the result is almost tied, with 43.5% appreciating an improvement and 43.3% noting a deterioration. From there, negative assessments predominate: 77.2% believe that purchasing power and the cost of living have worsened and 88.7%, housing access.

The difference matters for interpreting the 50%. Spaniards rate the overall evolution of the economy higher than some of the aspects that affect their living conditions more directly. Therefore, the positive balance of the first does not reproduce when asking about prices, housing or public services.

Two electorates that see different economies

The economic assessment reorganizes completely when memory of vote is taken into account. Among those who supported the PSOE in the 2023 general elections, 89% consider that the economy has improved and only 6.5% that it has worsened. The majority does not simply see a favorable trend: 60.2% respond that it has improved “a lot”.

“Among those who supported the PSOE in the 2023 general elections, 89% consider that the economy has improved and only 6.5% that it has worsened”

Voters for Sumar are even more positive. 93.6% indicate an improvement, compared to only 2.2% who perceive a deterioration. A 51.7% consider that the situation has improved a lot and another 41.9%, somewhat.

Nevertheless, the reading reverses among the right-leaning electorates. 76.9% of PP voters believe that the economy has worsened, versus 9.4% who see an improvement. More than half, 51.8%, consider that it has worsened “a lot”.

In Vox, the distance is even greater: 87% report a deterioration and only 6.5% an improvement. Three out of four voters for the party, 75.4%, choose the most negative response.

Junts operates in a different terrain. 47.9% of its voters think the economy has improved, compared with 35.2% who believe it has worsened and 13.7% who do not perceive major changes. Its electorate is much closer to the overall result than those of PP, PSOE, Vox or Sumar.

The economy thus appears much more crossed by voting patterns than housing. In the latter, even 81.9% of Socialist voters and 80.4% of Sumar voters regarded the situation as having worsened. In the overall economic assessment, however, belonging to one bloc or another almost completely changes the diagnosis.

A wake-up call among the 25 to 34-year-olds

Regarding the generational perspective, the group aged 25 to 34 is the only one where the balance is clearly negative: 52.4% consider that the economy has worsened, compared with 36.5% who think it has improved.

“The 25 to 34 age group is the only one where the balance is clearly negative: 52.4% think the economy has worsened, versus 36.5% who think it has improved”

In this case, the data do not allow simply speaking of a gap between young and old. Among 18 to 24, 46.4% see an improvement and 40.3% a deterioration. Among 35 to 49, the figures are 48.9% and 40.9%, respectively.

Apart from this, the older you are, the more positive the outlook. Between 50 and 64, 50.1% see an improvement versus 42.7% who report a deterioration. The most positive are those aged 65 to 74: 59.3% think the economy has improved and 33.8% that it has worsened.

The result for the 25 to 34 group coincides with the greatest discontent this group expresses in other areas, although in the economy it allows for a bit more precision: there is no simple generational progression. Those under 25 are noticeably more positive than those just above them.

“The most positive are the citizens aged 65 to 74: 59.3% think the economy has improved and 33.8% that it has worsened”

As with aspects such as the preference to complete the legislature, there are notable differences if one looks at gender. Among women, 53.8% consider that the economy has improved and 34.8% that it has worsened. Among men, the two positions are virtually tied: 45.7% versus 45.5%. The ten-point edge of the positive assessment across the population thus concentrates more among women.

Consequently, in the economic section, the perception of improvement exceeds that of deterioration by 9.9 points and is the only item in the set with a clearly favorable balance, but that diagnosis has a strong partisan component and does not reach all generations equally. In any case, it can be noted that the overall assessment of the economy is positive, but the agreement that this improvement is reaching everyone is considerably more distant.

The pan-European polling firm Cluster17 has established itself as one of the most accurate in Spain. Its 2023 general election survey was the second most accurate in votes and the third in seats, according to Electomanía. In 2024, with the survey published in Agenda Pública, it achieved the most precise estimate of the Catalan elections and, also with this outlet, the third most accurate in the global ranking of seats and votes in the European elections.