The retail trade sector of the A.C. of the Basque Country increased nominal sales by 6.6% in the third quarter of 2006 with regard to the same period the year before, according to Eustat data. This nominal increase, discounting the effect of prices, becomes a positive inter-annual evolution of 4.2% in real terms. With these data the accumulated growth in retail sales during the first nine months of 2006 came to a 5.5% nominal and 3.7% real increase.

Real rates of inter-annual growth. A.C. of Euskadi

Source: EUSTAT

Traditional retail trade (specialised) increased nominal sales by 8.6% in the third quarter of 2006, with regard to the same period in 2005. This nominal increase became a 6.9 % growth rate in real terms.

Retail trade at medium and large stores (non-specialised) increased in the third quarter of the year by 3.0% in nominal terms. The variation on the inter-annual rate was -1.0% with regard to the same quarter of 2005.

Specialised retail trade, the highest inter-annual growth rate corresponded to Personal equipment, which registered 15.6% nominal growth, which in real terms was 14.6%. Household equipment obtained 9.3% nominal growth and 6.3% in real terms. Food articles obtained moderate growth with 2.3% in nominal terms, which became a negative rate of -2.6% in real terms. Sales of products of Other Consumer Goods (sports, toys, optics and stationery among others) obtained more discrete nominal growth of 0.2%, but became a 0.0% variation in real terms..

By Provinces, the highest growth, in the third quarter of 2006, in retail sector nominal sales corresponded to Álava, with an 11.8% inter-annual increase, specialised retail trade sales rising 17.9% and non-specialised retail trade sales increasing by 1.4%.

Bizkaia obtained intermediate evolution of 6.5%, with an 8.0% increase in specialised trade sales and 4.0% in non-specialised trade sales.

Lower inter-annual provincial growth in the sale of retail trade corresponded to Gipuzkoa (4.6%), this increase being 6.1% for specialised retail trade and a 2.0% increase for non-specialised trade, in terms of nominal inter-annual variation.

Growth in employment in the retail trade sector on the second quarter of the previous year was 0.7% and the provincial breakdown was as follows: Gipuzkoa grew by 2.7%, Álava by 0.3% and Bizkaia fell by 0.5%. Personnel employed in the retail trade sector in relation to the average for the same period the year before grew by 1.3% in the whole of the three provinces: increasing by 1.7% in Bizkaia, and 0.8% in Gipuzkoa and Alava.