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Press release 27/05/2010

INDUSTRIAL STATISTICS - DISTRICTS 2008

The industry of Álava and Bizkaia is concentrated around their provincial capitals

Industry in Gipuzkoa is more scattered and more balanced throughout the province

A common characteristic of the industry of Álava and Bizkaia is its high concentration around the respective provincial capitals, according to Eustat data. Ín Álava, in 2008, the industry of the Llanada Alavesa accounted for 60.8% of the total value added generated in the province. In the case of Bizkaia, the industrial concentration is even higher and the Gran Bilbao district accounted for 62.6% of the total value added generated in this province. The effect is accentuated if the Duranguesado district is added, as together they represented 82.2% of the total for Bizkaia. This identical to the situation in Álava, where if the industrial value added generated in the Llanada Alavesa was added to that of the Cantábirca Alavesa, both districts together represented over 77.9% of the province's industry.

The district distribution of industry was different in Gipuzkoa, as even though the 30.5% of the total value added of the province was in the Donostia-San Sebastián district, both the Goierri and Alto Deba districts accounted for 17.6 and 17.1%,respectively, of Gipuzkoa industry.

Given the importance of these districts, the value added growth rates compared to the previous year, particularly in Álava and in Bizkaia, were influenced by the performance of their provincial capitals.

In the case of Álava, growth of the Llanada Alavesa was 2.9%, identical to the overall figure for the province. The greatest year-on-year growth in the province was in the Montaña Alavesa, with a positive fluctuation of 22.6% but of little importance in terms of the province over all. It was followed by the Valles Alaveses and the Cantábrica Alavesa, with growth of 7.7 and 4.4%, respectively. The worst industrial performance in the province was in the Rioja Alavesa, which registered a 1% drop in its value added.

The average growth of industrial value added in the province of Bizkaia was 3.6%, while the Plentzia-Mungia (11.9%), Encartaciones (7.5%), Markina-Ondarroa (5.3%) and Gran Bilbao (4%) districts exceeded that figure. On the other hand, the lowest value added growth rates were recorded by Arratia-Nervión (-4.4%) and Duranguesado, even though they latter posted positive growth of 1.7%.

The average growth of Gipuzkoa was the smallest of the three provinces with a rate of 0.2%. By districts, the best performances were registered in Tolosaldea, with growth of 8.7%, followed by Bajo Bidasoa (6.3%) and Donostia-San Sebastián (5.5%). On the other hand, the district with the poorest performance in 2008 were the Alto Deba with a drop of 9.2% and el Goierri, where the value added fell by 4.2%.

Industrial employment in the Basque Country rose to 250,292 people in 2008. Forty-seven per cent of the industrial employment was concentrated in the regions of Llanada Alavesa, Gran Bilbao and Donostialdea. The number of people employed in industry in both Gran Bilbao and Donostialdea fell by 2.0% and 1.8%, respectively. The employment figure only increased in the Llanada Alavesa (0.3%).

In 2008, the general district trend has been for employment to fall compared to the previous year. Few districts did not comply with the general rule, including the Valles Alaveses (Álava), where employment increased by 5%, together with Llanada Alavesa. In Bizkaia, only Encartaciones maintained their employment level (0.2%), but it also has to be remembered that it is the district of Bizkaia with the lowest level of industrial employment. In Gipuzkoa, only Goierri and Tolosaldea posted increased job figures with respect to the previous year (1.0%) and (0.4%), respectively.

Personnel employed and Added Value at industrial factor cost by regions. 2008. Thousands of euros