With these figures, the accumulated nominal downturn for 2008 stood at 0.1%

The retail trade sector of the Basque Country registered a 4.0% drop in nominal sales in the fourth quarter of 2008 with regard to the same period of the previous year, according to Eustat data. This nominal increase, discounting the effect of price rises, also becomes a negative year-on-year evolution of 5.4% in real terms.

Real rates of inter-annual growth. Basque Country.

Source: EUSTAT

Specialised retail trade decreased nominal sales by 4.7% in the fourth quarter of 2008, with regard to the same period in 2007. This nominal decrease becomes a negative rate of 5.7% in real terms, as the result of the price evolution in its different sub-sectors.

Non-specialised retail trade dropped by 2.2% in nominal terms during the fourth quarter of this year. Taking the evolutions of its prices into account, the estimated fluctuation of the real year-on-year rate was down 4.9% with respect to the same quarter of 2007.

Specialised retail trade saw the greatest year-on-year decrease in the Personal Equipment Sector, which registered a 6.7% nominal fall, which in real terms was a drop of 8.6%. However, Other Consumer Goods performed more discretely, and was down by 5.2% in current euros and by 6.5% in constant euros. The sales of Food products dropped by 2.5% in nominal terms, which was down by 5.3% in real terms. The sales of Household Equipment products dropped by 2.6% in nominal terms that becomes a 2.5% decrease in real terms. As far as non-specialised retail trade was concerned, year-on-year sales of the food sub-sectors fell by 1.4%, while the Other Products were down by 6.6%. In constant euros, they fell by 4.2% and 8.8%, respectively.

By Provinces, the greatest drop, in the fourth quarter of 2008, in retail sector nominal sales was in Álava, with a 7.9% year-on-year decrease, with specialised retail trade sales falling by 8.5% and non-specialised retail trade sales by 5.1%.

Bizkaia saw a 3.7% drop in retail sales, where specialised retail trade sales were down by up by 4.1% and non-specialised sales by 2.6%

Retail sales in Gipuzkoa performed more moderately, with a 2.7% decrease. Specialised retail sales were down by 3.8% and non-specialised sales were up by 0.2%, in terms of nominal year-on-year fluctuation.

The number of people employed in the retail trade sector in the fourth quarter of 2008 was down by 1.3% on the third quarter.

2008 ANNUAL BALANCE

Taking the year as a whole, retail sales registered accumulated a nominal downturn of 0.1%, which in real terms meant a decrease of 2.3%.

By provinces, Gipuzkoa recorded an increase for the year as a whole (1.4%), while sales fell in Bizkaia by 0.4% and by 2.7% in Álava, all in nominal rates. In real terms, the downturn in the three provinces was 1.0% for Bizkaia, 2.6% for Gipuzkoa and 4.2% for Álava.

Accumulated growth in employment in the retail trade sector in 2008 compared to the average for the previous year was 0.1% and was reflected provincially as follows: 1.0% in Bizkaia, -1.0% in Gipuzkoa and -1.2% in Álava.