Business leaders in Malaga: 'Infrastructure investment in the province is far from what it should be'
The local branch of the confederation of employers, which includes the Costa del Sol, has called on everyone "not to become complacent" and to "step on the gas and avoid losing momentum"
The confederation of employers of Malaga (CEM) has taken stock of the year 2025 as it comes to an end and has outlined its outlook for the province in 2026, along with the challenges facing the province and the wider Andalucía region.
This employers' association, chaired by Javier González de Lara, reiterated a message it has been emphasising in recent months, combining two ideas. One is highlighting that "Malaga continues to be the economic engine of Andalucía, as evidenced by its GDP growth, job creation and the number of businesses and self-employed workers." The second idea, in contrast, stresses that the province faces the challenge of achieving "a new impetus". González de Lara stated that Malaga faces "challenges and limitations that could seriously compromise its future socioeconomic development". This was stated in a press release issued by the CEM following the joint meeting of its executive committee and board of directors held on Tuesday morning.
Among these "limitations", González de Lara spoke of the province's infrastructure deficit, whether due to a lack of it in some cases or its critical state in others. The CEM head insisted on the need to boost mobility and road and rail connections, along with the airport expansion and the already "urgent" improvement of the electricity grid's distribution capacity. He then denounced the fact that, while there have been "recent announcements and declarations of intent", there are still no "effective advances or commitments that guarantee sufficient infrastructure development in the medium and long term". "Malaga is clearly far from the level of infrastructure investment it deserves," he concluded.
"The infrastructure deficit, the lack of productive land and the growing housing crisis seriously threaten not only our future economic growth and social development, but also the very consolidation of a metropolitan Malaga"
This, together with the lack of productive land and the growing housing crisis, he admitted, "seriously threatens not only our future economic growth and social development, but also the very consolidation of a metropolitan Malaga that, to date, still has a long way to go".
For all these reasons, González de Lara urged everyone to "not become complacent": "It is now, precisely, when we must step on the gas and avoid losing momentum". He also called for the implementation of "a solid, long-term strategic planning, focusing on investment and the competitiveness of the province, with the involvement of all levels of government and the collaboration of the business community".
Record employment and improved GDP outlook
3.7% GDP growth
is expected for Malaga this year, exceeding the forecasts for Andalucía, Spain and the European Union.
As for the analysis of the year's economic data, the president of the CEM praised the improved GDP outlook, which points to a 3.7% growth for the province this year, surpassing the numbers expected for the region, Spain and the EU. He also noted that employment has set a new record, both in sign-ups to Social Security and the decrease in unemployment, with nearly 760,000 registered workers in July and falling below 110,000 unemployed during the summer months. Still, he did mention some drawbacks, one being that the reduction in unemployment is faltering, reflected in the fact that the unemployment rate for the second and third quarters of 2025 is higher than the levels for the same period in 2024. He concluded that the productive sector faces an increasingly complicated target of reducing unemployment when faced with constant growth in the working-age population. Another drawback, he added, is the difficulties that companies face in terms of hiring in terms of costs, administrative complexity and regulations. All this runs alongside a high number of unfilled vacancies: "The shortage of personnel is increasingly severe to meet the growth needs of strategic sectors, such as construction, tourism and hospitality, technology and transportation." He estimated the unmet demand at 20,000 jobs at certain times of the year. In view of this, he called for "bringing order to an equation that includes numerous job seekers and many unfilled vacancies" through policies that facilitate labour market integration of the most vulnerable groups.
The final factors highlighted by González de Lara were his concerns about work absenteeism, as well as the erosion he has observed of the middle class due to inflation and the tax burden.
