Press Release 12/26/2014
The number of establishments in the Basque Country fell by 1.3% in 2013
The net balance with respect to the previous year between start-up establishments and those that stopped trading was negative by 2,406 establishments
In early 2014, 159,001 companies operated in the Basque Country in various sectors of economic activity and traded in 176,879 establishments (factories, shops, offices, ...), 1.3% down on the previous year, according to Eustat data.
By sectors, the number of establishments increased with respect to the previous year in the following sectors: Public Administration, Education & Health, which rose by 3.7%; Information & Communications, which rose by 3.1%; Financial & Insurance Activities, which was up by 1.6%; and Arts Activities and Other Services, which rose by 1.2%. On the other hand, the 13.1% fall in Real Estate Activities and the 9.4% fall in the branch of Agriculture, Livestock and Fishing, stood out.
The largest sector was Trade, Transport and Hotel Management & Catering, with 38.5% of all establishments, followed by Professional Activities and Support Services (15.8%) and Construction (12.1%).
Trade, Transport and Hotel Management & Catering was also the most important sector in terms of employed individuals, occupying 26.3% of the Basque Country total recorded by the Directory of Economic Activities, with 849,335. This was followed by Public Administration, Education and Health, with 22.1% of the total, and Industry, Energy and Sewerage, with 20.7%.
The sectoral structure differed in the three Provinces. Thus, the greatest provider of employment in Álava was Industry, Energy and Health, with 27.3% of all the individuals employed in the province; followed by Public Administration, Education and Health, with 23.9%, and Trade, Transport and Hotel Management & Catering, with 22.6%.
In Bizkaia, the Trade, Transport and Hotel Management & Catering sector predominated, with 27.4% of the total individuals employed in the province. The Public Administration, Education and Health sector came second, with 22.0%, whereas Industry, Energy and Sewerage, with 16.1% of the total, was in third place.
In Gipuzkoa the Trade, Transport and Hotel Management & Catering sector stood out with 26.2% of the individuals employed in the province, followed by Industry, Energy and Sewerage, with 24.4% of the total. Public Administration, Education and Health came third, with 21.3%.
Throughout 2013, the distribution of establishments according to their size remained very similar to the previous year. Barely 2,244 establishments, 1.3% of the total, had 50 or more employees, despite accounting for 38.9% of the total. On the other hand, 132,369 establishments, almost three-quarters of the total, employed fewer than 3 people and accounted for just 19.4% of all individuals in work.
As regards the average size of the establishments by branch of activity, the greatest concentration of employed individuals was recorded in Industry, Energy and Sewerage, both in terms of the Basque Country overall, with an average size of 14.1 employees per establishment, and at provincial level; Álava standing out with 17.9, and the average size in Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa being 12.5 and 14.2 employees per establishment, respectively. The average size of the establishments in the Public Administration, Education and Health sector was also noteworthy, standing at 15.0 in Álava, 10.5 in Bizkaia and 10.8 in Gipuzkoa.
COMPANIES
Out of the total of companies, 97.7% of legal units providing support for the establishments' activities were based in the Basque Country and 3,695 in the rest of Spain. Bizkaia, with 80,045 companies, contributed just over half; Gipuzkoa 53,940 (33.9%) and Álava 21,321 (13.4%).
The average size of companies in the Basque Country remained stable, with 5.3 employees per company and 4.8 per establishment. The analysis by legal status reveals, however, noticeable differences. Companies under individual ownership only had 1.4 employees, both per company and establishment, whereas for the other legal forms these averages reached 11.1 and 9.0 employees per company and establishment, respectively.
BUSINESS DEMOGRAPHICS
The net balance between start-up establishments and those that stopped trading is -2,406.
The greatest rotation was seen in the branches of Trade, Transportation & Hostelry, with 33.0% of new openings and 31.6% of closures; 15.7% of new openings and 20.5% of closures in Construction; and Professional Activities and Support Services, with figures of 18.8% and 15.7%, respectively.
In the analysis of demography by legal status, the establishments created under the individual ownership formula stand out for having generated 64.6% of new openings and 64.0% of closures.
In terms of individuals employed, individually-owned establishments accounted for 37.6% of jobs created and 38.2% of jobs lost. Following these, Limited Company establishments accounted for 32.3% of jobs created and 33.2% of jobs lost.
In terms of establishment size, the most dynamic stratum was that of 2 employees or under, as has become the norm. This stratum alone accounted for 90.6% of all registrations and 89.6% of all closures.
On the contrary, the stratum of Large Stores, those with 50 or more employees, only accounted for 0.2% of all registrations and the same percentage of all closures. On the other hand, it accounted for 10.0% of all jobs created and 7.4% of all jobs lost.
For further information:
Eustat - Euskal Estatistika Erakundea / Instituto Vasco de Estadística
C/ Donostia-San Sebastián, 1 01010 Vitoria-Gasteiz
Press Service: servicioprensa@eustat.eus Tlf: 945 01 75 62
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