Specialised retail sales were up by 4.0% and non-specialised sales by 2.6%

The retail trade sector of the A.C. of the Basque Country increased nominal sales by 3.5% in the third quarter of 2007 with regard to the same period the year before, according to Eustat data. This nominal increase, discounting the effect of price rises, also becomes a positive inter-annual evolution of 2.2% in real terms.

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

Source: EUSTAT

Specialised retail trade increased nominal sales by 4.0% in the third quarter of 2007, with regard to the same period in 2006. This nominal increase becomes a growth rate of 2.9% in real terms.

Non-specialised retail trade grew by 2.6% in nominal terms during the third quarter of this year. The variation in the inter-annual rate was 0.6% with regard to the same quarter of 2006.

Specialised retail trade saw the highest inter-annual growth rate in the Other Consumer Goods (sports, toys, optics and stationery among others), which registered 7.3% nominal growth, which in real terms was a rate of 6.2%. Sales of Personal Equipment also grew significantly, by 5.1% in nominal terms, which in real terms was also a positive rate of 4.6%. Sales of Food products grew by 1.9% in constant euros, which was a growth of 1.4% in real terms. On the other hand, Household Product registered a nominal decrease of 0.5% and this rate became -2.6% in real terms.

By Provinces, the highest growth, in the third quarter of 2007, in retail sector nominal sales was in Gipuzkoa, with an 3.8% inter-annual increase, with specialised retail trade sales rising 7.9% and non-specialised retail trade sales by 2.0%..

AlavaGkpuzkoa registered an intermediary provincial growth of 3.4%, with specialised retail sales up by 4.4% and non-specialised sales by 1.5%

The lower inter-annual provincial growth in retail sales was in Bizkaia (3.3%), where specialised retail trade sales were up by 3.4% and non-specialised retail trade grew by 3.2%, always in terms of nominal inter-annual variation.

Accumulated growth in employment in the retail trade sector on the average for the third quarter of 2007 was 1.8% and can be broken down by provinces as follows: Álava grew by 3.2%, while Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa grew by 2.0% and 0.9%, respectively. The mean growth compared to the same period of the previous year stood at 1.5% for the three provinces as a whole. It increased by 2.1% in Gipuzkoa, 1.2% in Bizkaia and 1.1% in Álava.