Press release 24/09/2024

QUARTERLY ACCOUNTS. II/2024

The GDP of the Basque Country increased by 1.8% in the second quarter of 2024 and more than 18,000 jobs were created

Compared to the first quarter of the year, both GDP and employment rose by 0.4%

The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the Basque Country increased by 0.4% in quarter-on-quarter terms in the second quarter of 2024, following year-on-year growth of 1.8%, according to Eustat data. Employment, measured in full-time equivalent jobs, was also up 0.4% in the second quarter of 2024 compared to the first quarter of the year, representing an increase of 1.9% in year-on-year terms, i.e. a total of 18,318 more net jobs than in the second quarter of 2023.

These estimates confirm the GDP estimates obtained in Eustat’s Advance Quarterly Accounts of 22 July, both in terms of quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year growth. With regard to employment, however, the estimated increase in year-on-year terms improved by one tenth, although estimated growth fell by one tenth in relation to the previous quarter.

In addition to all the relevant information available, the re-estimates of the annual aggregates for 2021, 2022 and 2023 made in Eustat’s Economic Accounts were incorporated, as a result of not only the usual revisions, but also an in-depth revision of all the structural information for 2022, following the European extraordinary revision policy established by Eurostat, estimating real GDP growth of 5.7% for 2022 and 2.7% for 2023. Thus, 2022 became the new reference year for chain indices. The revision also affected the aggregates in nominal terms.

The estimated year-on-year growth in the Basque Country’s GDP during the second quarter (1.8%) was above the latest estimate made for the economy of the Eurozone (0.6%) as well as the European Union as a whole (0.8%). The Advance Quarterly National Accounts of Spain of 30 July estimated year-on-year growth in Spain at 2.9%.

From the point of view of Supply, the evolution of value added was positive in year-on-year terms (second quarter of 2024 compared to the second quarter of 2023) in all economic sectors.

The Primary sector registered an increase in its value added in real terms of 2.8% compared to the same quarter of the previous year and of 0.7% in relation to the previous quarter.

In the Industry sector, value added in year-on-year terms rose by 0.4%, with growth of 0.1% in Manufacturing Industry. Compared to the first quarter of 2024, Industry as a whole was down 0.4% and Manufacturing Industry saw a decline of 0.8%.

The Construction sector posted a year-on-year increase in value added in real terms of 1.5% in the second quarter of 2024, following an increase of 0.3% compared to the previous quarter.

Global activity in the Services sector was up 2.3% in relation to the same quarter of 2023, which meant a 0.6% rise in its value added in respect of the previous quarter.

The performance of the Services sector during this last quarter was positive in all three disaggregated branches. The branch of Trade, Hospitality and Transport posted an increase in value added of 1.0% in relation to the second quarter of the previous year, following a rise of 0.4% in respect of the previous quarter. Year-on-year growth was more pronounced in the Other Services branch (which includes activities such as property, professional, scientific and technical, as well as financial and insurance activities), with a growth rate of 2.7% in year-on-year terms; in relation to the previous quarter, growth reached 0.8%.

In the Public Administration, Education, Health and Social Services branch, following an increase of 0.6% in relation to the previous quarter, the growth in value added in relation to that observed in the second quarter of 2023 stood at 2.8%.

The year-on-year performance of all sectors gave rise to an increase in Basque Country Value Added of 1.8% during the second quarter of 2024, 0.4% above that observed in the first quarter of the year.

From the perspective of Demand, year-on-year growth was also widespread. Final consumption expenditure of households and non-profit institutions serving households (ISFLSH) (Private Consumption) posted a year-on-year rise of 1.7%, although this fell by 0.3% in respect of the previous quarter.

The final consumption expenditure of the Public Administrations (Public Consumption) increased by 2.2% compared to the second quarter of 2023, standing 0.4% below that estimated for the previous quarter.

The overall performance of public and private consumption resulted in a year-on-year rise of 1.8% in Final Consumption Expenditure, which was a decrease of 0.3% in relation to the first quarter of 2024.

In Gross Capital Formation (Investment), year-on-year growth stood at 1.6%, following a 0.4% decrease in respect of the previous quarter. Investment in Capital Goods registered a 1.6% rise in relation to the same quarter of the previous year, which represented an increase in quarter-on-quarter terms of 0.2%.

In Other Gross Capital Formation, which is more closely linked to the performance of construction, year-on-year growth stood at 1.7%, following an estimated decrease of 0.7% compared to the previous quarter.

Internal Demand, composed of Final Consumption Expenditure and Gross Capital Formation, experienced year-on-year growth of 1.7% in the second quarter of the year. This growth was below that estimated for GDP as a whole (1.8%), so the contribution of the Foreign Sector was positive during the second quarter of the year. In effect, Exports of goods and services increased by 2.1% in year-on-year terms, to a greater degree than Imports, which were 2.0% up on those observed in the second quarter of the previous year. The foreign balance therefore contributed positively to the year-on-year performance of the economy of the Basque Country.

With regard to employment levels (measured in Full-Time Equivalent Jobs), employment as a whole grew by 1.9% in relation to the second quarter of 2023, following a rise of 0.4% in respect of the previous quarter.

The Primary sector saw a 2.4% drop in employment compared to the second quarter of 2023, with a 0.3% decrease in quarter-on-quarter terms. In Industry, job creation in year-on-year terms stood at 1.0%, which meant an employment level 0.3% higher than in the previous quarter. In Construction, there was a negative trend in employment, in both year-on-year terms (with a decrease of 0.1%) and quarter-on-quarter terms (with a decrease of 0.3%). Finally, the number of full-time equivalent jobs in the Services sector increased by 2.4% in year-on-year terms, after rising 0.5% in quarter-on-quarter terms.

As regards GDP performance by Province, in the second quarter of 2024, Álava posted year-on-year growth of 1.4%, while Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa saw a rise of 1.9%. In relation to the previous quarter, growth reached 0.5% in Álava, whereas it stood at 0.4% in Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa.

Note:

Eustat has carried out a change of base year (2022 base year) to coincide with the dissemination of the Economic Accounts of the Basque Country referring to 2022 (definitive estimates), following the European extraordinary revision policy established by Eurostat and setting this reference point for all the National Accounts to be disseminated in 2024. This revision involves re-estimating the data for the entire series of years published and, at the moment, only the data for 2021 have been recalculated, both in the Economic Accounts and the Quarterly Accounts. The entire previous series will be updated with the new 2022 base year in the coming months.

For further information:

Eustat - Euskal Estatistika Erakundea / Basque Statistics Institute C/ Donostia-San Sebastián, 1 01010 Vitoria-Gasteiz Press Service: servicioprensa@eustat.eus Tel.: 945 01 75 62