The balance for the retail trade sector in the A.C. of Euskadi closed the year 2001 with 0.7% real growth in sales, point seven percent below the increase the year before (1.4%). This real growth comes to a nominal rate of 4.3% if the data is expressed in current pesetas.
The inter-annual evolution of the fourth quarter of the year (-1.8%) seems to confirm a downturn in sales that started in the third quarter (-0.3%) in retail trade in the A.C. of Euskadi, as opposed to the growth obtained in the first two quarters of the year: 3.3% and 1.8%.
Retail trade in medium and large stores (non-specialised) grew in the fourth quarter by 5.0% in nominal terms, once the effect of the price rise is discounted, the inter-annual rate does not present a variation with regard to the same quarter the previous year (0.0%). In the accumulated data for the year 2001, with regard to the year before, the rise in sales at medium and large stores was 4.6% in current pesetas, but there was no variation (0.0%) with regard to the previous year if counted in constant pesetas.
Traditional retail trade (specialised) fell in sales by 0.1% in the fourth quarter of 2001, with regard to the same quarter the previous year. This nominal decrease, once the effect of price rises is discounted, becomes –2.5% in real terms. The accumulated increase for the year 2001 in traditional retail trade was 4.1% in current terms, which represents a 1.0% increase in constant terms.
Personnel employed in the retail trade sector registered a 1.0% increase in the fourth quarter of 2001 with regard to the previous quarter. This increase was 0.4% with regard to the same quarter the previous year.
By Provinces, while the retail trade sectors of Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa obtained real annual growth of 1.0% and 0.8%, respectively, Alava, however, suffered a 0.8% decrease for the accumulated total of the year 2001.
Sales by medium and large stores reached real growth in Gipuzkoa (1.0%) for the accumulated total in 2001, while in Bizkaia there was a slight decrease (-0.1%) and in Alava the fall was sharper ( -1.8%) .
For traditional retail trade, Bizkaia obtained the highest real growth rate (1.5%) for the whole of 2001; Gipuzkoa also presented positive values (0.7%), but in Alava there was a slight decrease (-0,3%).
With regard to personnel employed in the retail trade sector in the fourth quarter of 2001, there was an Inter-annual increase (with regard to the same quarter the previous year) in Gipuzkoa (1.9%), while in Bizkaia and Alava there were slight reductions (-0.3% and –0.4%, respectively).