Catalan economy posts 2.7% growth and productivity gains, but housing deficit of over 140,000 homes threatens welfare and business competitiveness

The 61st edition of the Memòria Econòmica de Catalunya 2025, presented on Thursday at the Llotja de Mar in Barcelona, paints a picture of an economy undergoing a qualitative shift toward productivity-led growth while grappling with a housing shortage that the Chamber of Commerce describes as a structural threat.

A more balanced growth model

Catalonia's GDP grew 2.7% in 2025, nearly double the 1.4% posted by the eurozone. GDP per capita advanced 1.6% against 1.1% in the currency union. More significantly, productivity per hour worked rose 1.1% while hours worked per inhabitant increased 0.5%, meaning employment and efficiency contributed in tandem. Carme Poveda, director of the report, stressed the novelty of this combination.

Since the post-pandemic period there has been a qualitative change, because productivity is growing at a time of strong employment growth.

Productivity and employment are jointly contributing to growth.

A gradual transformation of the productive fabric

Between 2019 and 2025, higher-value-added activities (information technology, finance, professional services) increased their share from 17.1% to 19.4% of economic output, while commerce, transport and hospitality dipped from 28.7% to 27.8%. Productive investment jumped 6.9% in 2025, reaching a historic high per worker, and the stock of large enterprises (over 200 employees) rose to 3,156, a thousand more than a decade ago. The report sees these trends as early evidence that the Catalan economy is reorienting toward a more qualified and less labour-dependent model.

A housing deficit that deepens every year

The housing chapter dominates the report. On the back of 440,000 additional residents over four years (pushing the population past 8.2 million), Catalonia created more than 200,000 new households between 2021 and 2025. In the same period, only 61,000 to 64,000 new homes were built, generating a deficit of over 140,000 dwellings. The Barcelona province alone accounts for about 90,000 of that gap. Oriol Aspachs, from CaixaBank Research, noted in his contribution that the shortfall is especially acute in the metropolitan area, where demand pressure is intense and supply notoriously rigid.

Suppliers point to multiple bottlenecks: a shortage of skilled construction labour, sluggish urban-planning approvals, rising building costs, limited electricity-grid capacity in some zones, and a lack of available land. Carme Poveda said there is a "broad consensus" among the nine expert articles in the monographic section that the root cause is a supply-side failure.

The toll on households and firms

Real average wages have hardly budged over the past five years, while food prices are up 30% from pre-pandemic levels. A quarter of workers earn less than €19,000 a year. Combined with soaring housing costs, these pressures are squeezing family budgets, especially for households with children and for single-parent homes. The Chamber's economists identify housing costs as the dominant drag on household wellbeing.

For businesses, the impact is equally corrosive. Despite historic highs in both population and employment, firms report difficulty finding staff. Josep Santacreu, president of the Barcelona Chamber, made the connection explicit during his opening address.

If we aspire to a welfare economy, we must urgently address boosting housing supply. The crisis affects both social and economic development.

The report argues that the housing bottleneck not only depresses living standards but also weakens Catalonia's ability to attract and retain talent, undermining the productivity gains that the rest of the diagnosis celebrates. The paradox is stark: an economy that is becoming more sophisticated and productive is simultaneously pricing its own workers out of a place to live.