Press Release 11/09/2013
The sales index of the services sector of the Basque Country dropped by 4.3% in the second quarter of 2013
Trade was down by 2.6% and other services fell by 5.8%
The sales index for the services sector of the Basque Country registered a 4.3% nominal drop in sales in the second quarter of 2013 compared to the same period of the previous year, according to Eustat data.
Compared to the previous quarter, the sales index was down a nominal 2.1%, once any seasonal effects had been eliminated.
By sectors, the trade sales index was down 2.6% in nominal terms in the second quarter of 2013, whilst for other services which form part of the index it was down 5.8% with regards to the same period of 2012.
Within trade, the wholesale trade sector registered a nominal decrease of 4.6%, whilst the fall in Retail trade was limited to 0.9%. For its part, Sales and repair of motor vehicles fell by 4.6% in relation to the same quarter of the previous year.
In all sectors related to Other services there were downturns of varying degrees. The biggest were recorded in the Information & Communications sector, with a drop of 11.7%, in Hotel Management & Catering, with a similar decrease, 11.3%, and in Administrative Activities & Auxiliary Services, which posted a negative result of 7.1%. The falls in sales relating to Scientific & Technical Activities and Transport & Storage were more constrained, down 2.3% and 1.3%, respectively.
By province, the three provinces experienced similar downturns in their sales indices: Bizkaia fell by 4.4%, Álava by 4.3% and Gipuzkoa by 4.0%.
In real terms, domestic trade sales fell by 5.4% in the second quarter, once the price effect had been eliminated
In Trade, the sales index was down by 4.5% and in Other Services the decrease was 7.4%, with regards to the same quarter of 2012 and at constant prices.
Within Trade the year-on-year performances were negative across all sectors: the Wholesale Trade Index was down by 5.4%, whilst the Sales and Repair of Motor Vehicles and Retail Trade sectors fell by 3.9% and 3.8%, respectively.
In the Other Services sector, in constant euros, the sales index for Hotel Management & Catering dropped by 10.8%, that for Information & Communications by 10.3% and Administrative Activities & Auxiliary Services, by 9.5%. Furthermore, the sales index for Scientific & Technical Professional Activities was down by 5.5 % and Transport & Storage, by 4.1%.
The index of people employed in the services sector in the Basque Country in the second quarter of 2013 was down by 1.2% on the previous quarter.
For further information:
Eustat - Euskal Estatistika Erakundea / Instituto Vasco de Estadística
C/ Donostia-San Sebastián, 1 01010 Vitoria-Gasteiz
Press Service: servicioprensa@eustat.eus Tel: 945 01 75 62
Press releases on the Internet on the Conjunctural Services Index of the Basque Country (ICS)
Databank on the Conjunctural Services Index of the Basque Country (ICS)