Family spending continues to fall in Spain

The annual spending of the average Spanish family continued to fall, according to the latest study published by the National Institute of Statistics on Tuesday.
The 2013 Study into Family Budgets shows that in 2013 the spending of the average Spanish family dropped by 3.7 percent to 27,098 euros (36,770 U.S. dollars).
That means that spending has fallen by total of 14.5 percent since the start of the economic crisis in 2008, although this reduction in spending is not equally distributed throughout all areas of the household economy.
Spending on what can be described as "leisure activities", such as hotels, restaurants, cinema and theater tickets, have suffered a reduction of around 29 percent over the last five years, while spending on education, gas and electricity and medicines have actually increased.
Much less money is also being spent on clothes in Spain with families spending 30 percent less than in 2008. This is partly through people buying fewer clothes, but it should also be pointed out that many now wait until the winter and summer sales before making their purchases.
In contrast, spending on education has risen by 22 percent, mainly due to an increase in university matriculation costs and the loss of financial help in buying school textbooks.
Meanwhile the introduction of "co-payment" in the health sector has seen Spaniards pay an average of 9.2 percent more on medicines.
The findings lead to several worrying conclusions, the reduction in spending on hotels and restaurants show just how much that sector depends on the tourist sector, which fortunately for them is once again is in line to enjoy another record year after over 60 million people visited Spain in 2013.
Meanwhile the lack of domestic spending shows that the Spanish economic recovery continues to rely on the export sector with the domestic market continuing to remain weak.
Until domestic spending, accompanied by a corresponding rise in investment begins to appear, any recovery will not be built on a solid foundation.