Regional outlook on labor productivity in Spain, 2000–2022

This paper analyzes the evolution of labor productivity in Spanish regions during 2000–2022, with attention to their sectoral structure and productive specialization. Using data from the National Statistics Institute and the Fundación de Estudios de Economía Aplicada, we compute labor productivity as the ratio of gross value added at constant prices to effective hours worked. Through cluster analysis, we group the regions into five clusters based on their relative productive specialization. The results highlight the sustained leadership of the cluster formed by Madrid, the Balearic Islands, and the Canary Islands, marked by strong tertiarization. They also show greater resilience of industrially oriented clusters during economic crises. At the same time, differences in labor productivity dynamics do not always match the groupings suggested by cluster analysis, due to the heterogeneous role of service subsectors.