Young people from the Canary Islands who manage to become independent have to dedicate 99.4% of their salary to pay for rent without sharing a home, compared to 80% of the Spanish average, and 64.5% to cover the expenses of the mortgage payment, in case of buying it.
This is reflected in the Emancipation Observatory presented this Friday by the Youth Council, which specifies that at the state level, young people continue to delay the age of emancipation until 30 years, the highest in the last two decades.
"We become independent when we stop being young", highlights the Youth Council in its latest barometer at the end of 2022, which shows a stagnation of the youth emancipation rate at 15.9%, half that of the European Union -31.9%-.
In its section dedicated to the autonomous communities, the report emphasizes that the Canary Islands was one of the few autonomous communities in which the risk of poverty and social exclusion among the young population increased between 2021 and 2022, only surpassed by Ceuta and Melilla.
Low salaries and precarious jobs
The socio-economic precariousness of the young Canarian population was still structural, the report emphasizes; firstly, due to the "extreme dependence" on commerce and hospitality as sources of job creation.
Secondly, due to the low salary they received, the second lowest in Spain. In addition, more than half of young people with higher education completed occupied jobs that required a lower level of training.
On the other hand, renting a home in the Canary Islands, the majority alternative among the 15.8% of young people who managed to become independent at the end of 2022, would mean having to allocate 99.4% of their salary.
The purchase of a free home, "already very unfeasible due to the restrictive access conditions (necessary prior savings, demonstrating sufficient income and economic solvency in the medium and long term)", would mean having to allocate 64.5% of the salary only to cover the expenses of the mortgage payment.
In the comparison between communities, the Canary Islands equals the national rate of emancipation of young people between 16 and 29 years, 15%, and is one of the lowest in terms of emancipation among the population of 30 to 34 years, 60%, compared to more than 70% of the national average.
Young Canarian women, those who have the most difficulty becoming independent
If differentiated by sex, the emancipation rate of men from 16 to 29 years is higher than that of women, contrary to what happens in the country as a whole, and is the third highest in Spain, only behind Catalonia and Murcia.
On the other hand, among women, that rate in the Canary Islands is the lowest, equaled with Castilla-La Mancha.
Andrea González Henry, president of the Youth Council of Spain, has highlighted that "the age of emancipation has risen to 30 years, the highest figure since the observatory published this report, 20 years ago; we exceed the figure that defines being young, in Spain becoming independent is practically a chimera".
Rent rises faster than salaries
Employment was not enough to be able to access a home, whether purchased or rented. Although the average salary of a young person rose by 4.6% to 13,079 euros net per year (or 1,089 euros net per month), the price of rent did so by 7.55% (average price of 912 euros).
Therefore, to pay for rent alone, a young worker would have to dedicate 83.7% of their salary, to which would have to be added an average of 141 euros for the supplies and services of a home (such as water, electricity, gas bills, etc.), which would absorb their salary (96.6% of their salary) and they would barely have about 40 euros left for food, clothing and leisure.
"Something completely unaffordable", concludes the Youth Council, which attributes this situation to the lack of political action and the great speculation in the housing market.
