Press Release 28/02/2013

CONJUNCTORAL SERVICES INDEX OF THE BASQUE COUNTRY (ICS) 4th quarter 2013

Sales in the Services sector of the Basque Country fell by 0.6% in the fourth quarter of 2013

For the year overall services registered a downturn in sales of 3.6%

The sales index of the services sector in the Basque Country fell by a nominal 0.6% in the fourth quarter of 2013 compared to the same period of the previous year, in homogenous terms of the working calendar and according to data provided by Eustat.

Compared to the previous quarter, the sales index was up a nominal 1.5%, once any seasonal effects had been eliminated.

By sectors, the trade sales index was up 0.6% in nominal terms in the third quarter of 2013, whilst for other services forming part of the index it was down 2.5% with regards to the same period of 2012.

Within trade, the Sale & Repair of Motor Vehicles sector stood out for positive reasons, registering a nominal upturn of 14.6%. Wholesale Trade evidenced a downturn of 0.8% and Retail Trade increased by 0.4%.

There were declines of varying degrees in all of the sectors that make up Other Services, except in Transport and Storage, which rose by 3.2%. In Information and Communications the drop was 9.9%, in Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities the negative result was 4.7%, in Administrative Activities and Auxiliary Services it was 4.6%, in Hotel Management and Catering there was a drop of 2.6%.

By province, the biggest drop of the sales index occurred in Bizkaia, where it was down 1.5%; in Gipuzkoa it was down 0.1%, whereas in Álava it rose by 1.7%.

In real terms, domestic trade sales fell by 1.1% in the fourth quarter once the price effect had been eliminated

Within the Trade sector, the sales index was up by 0.4% and in other services a decrease of 3.2% was registered, with regards to the same quarter of 2012 and at constant prices.

The year-on-year evolutions within Trade were different among the sectors: the Sale and Repair of Motor Vehicles sector was up by 16.2%, but the Wholesale trade index fell by 0.6% and the Retail trade index fell by 1.2%.

In the Other Services section, all of the sectors registered drops in constant euros except Transport and Storage, which increased 1.4%; the sales index of the Hotel Management and Catering sector dropped 3.1%, the Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities sector decreased by 5.4%, the Administrative Activities and Auxiliary Services sector fell 5.5%, and the Information and Telecommunications sector sales index experienced a decline of 7.6%.

The index of employed people in the services sector in the Basque Country in the fourth quarter of 2013 was down by 1.2% on the third quarter of 2013.



ANNUAL BALANCE 2013

There was an accumulated nominal decrease of 3.6% in services sector sales for the year overall. By province, the greatest fall was recorded in Bizkaia, with an overall yearly decrease of 4.6%, followed by Álava, with a drop of 2.7% and Gipuzkoa, which fell by 2.1%, all at nominal rates. A breakdown by sector reveals that trade fell by 2.6% and other services did so by 4.7% with regards to the previous year.

In real terms, the sector as a whole registered an accumulated decrease in 2013 of 5.0% for the Basque Country, with Bizkaia falling by 5.9%, Álava by 4.2% and Gipuzkoa by 3.6%. Trade overall fell by 4.0% and other services did so by 6.5%.

The reduction in employment in the services sector in 2013 compared to the average for the previous year stood at 5.1%

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)