Press release 12/05/2011

ADVANCE QUARTERLY ECONOMIC ACCOUNTS OF THE BASQUE COUNTRY (ACET) 1st QUARTER 2011

The GDP for the Basque Country registered 0.9% year-on-year growth in the first quarter of 2011

Growth was up 0.3% on the previous quarter

The Basque Country Gross Domestic Product (GDP) posted 0.9% growth in the first quarter of 2011 with respect to the previous quarter, once corrected for calendar and seasonal effects, according to the advance data prepared by EUSTAT. This is now the fourth consecutive quarter with positive year-on-year growth and this rate is one tenth up on the growth in the fourth quarter of 2010. In terms of the year-on-year rate, the Spanish economy grew by 0.7% according to the estimate advanced by the Bank of Spain.

The fluctuation in GDP of the Basque Country in the first quarter of 2011 meant growth of 0.3% with respect to the previous quarter. This figure is one tenth better than the performance in the previous quarter and is also one tenth up on the growth posted by the Spanish economy, according to the data released by the Bank of Spain.

The bases underpinning this growth are the better performance of the industrial sector, along with a negative evolution of the construction sector and a positive performance, although more moderate than in the previous quarter, of services.



In terms of employment, however, the trend continued to be negative with respect to the previous quarter, as it was down 0.4% and with a slight drop compared to the same quarter of the previous year.

For further information:

Basque Statistics Office C/ Donostia-San Sebastián, 1 01010 Vitoria-Gasteiz Tel.: +34-945-01 75 00 Fax: +34-945-01 75 01 E-mail: eustat@eustat.es Contact: Javier Aramburu Tel:+34-945-01 75 80 Fax:+34-945-01 75 01 Further press releases on the Advance Quarterly Economic Account of the Basque Country (ACET) Advance Quarterly Economic Account of the Basque Country (ACET) databank