Press release 13/11/2020

SERVICE SECTOR INDEX. OTHER MARKET SERVICES. III/2020

Sales in Market Services in the Basque Country in the third quarter of 2020 were 19.1% higher than those in the previous quarter

In relation to the third quarter of 2019 sales in Market Services were down 15.8%

The sectors that come under Other Market Services (hereinafter Market Services) increased their sales by 19.1% compared to the previous quarter, at constant prices and once seasonal effects had been eliminated, according to Eustat data. This increase was lower than the drop of 23.9% registered in the second quarter of the year.

In the third quarter of 2020 and in relation to the third quarter of the previous year, once corrected for calendar effects, sales in Market Services registered a fall in sales in real terms of 15.8%. In the accumulated total for the first three quarters of 2020, sales saw a decrease of 17.3%.

Within Market Services, the year-on-year downturn in real sales is generalised. Of particular note is the drop in sales in the Hotel Management and Catering sector, with an estimated decrease of 35.5%. It is followed by sales in Administrative Activities & Auxiliary Services with a decrease of 26.4%; Transport and Storage, down 6.8%, Professional, Scientific & Technical Activities, which registered a year-on-year variation of -6.4%; and, finally the Information & Communications sector, which fell by 4.1%. All the above in relation to the third quarter of the previous year and once corrected for calendar effects.

Compared to the second quarter of 2020 and in deseasonalised terms, there was a generalised recovery although to different extents. Thus, the Hotel Management and Catering sector saw its sales increase by 82.4% in the third quarter compared to the preceding quarter and Transport & Storage by 24.5%. Sales in Professional, Scientific & Technical Activities rose by 9.7% in quarter-on-quarter terms; Administrative Activities & Auxiliary Services saw an increase of 8.2%; and, finally, sales in the branch of Information & Communications were up 2.8%.

In the year so far, the sharpest drop in accumulated sales was in Hotel Management & Catering (fluctuation of -38.8%), Administrative Activities & Auxiliary Services (-21.3%) and Transport & Storage (-12.6%). The decrease was more moderate in Professional, Scientific & Technical Activities (-7.8%) and Information and Communications (-3.5%)

By province, and once the price and calendar effects had been discounted, in Álava there was year-on-year decrease in the Sales Index of 12.4%, in Bizkaia it was down 15.4% and in Gipuzkoa there was a fall of 17.8%.

In relation to the preceding quarter, sales increased by 39.0% in Álava, by 25.2% in Gipuzkoa and by 12.4% in Bizkaia. In the year so far, accumulated sales in Market Services were down 19.8% in Gipuzkoa, 16.4% in Álava and, finally, by 16.2% in Bizkaia.

The index of people employed in Market Services as a whole for the Basque Country dropped 3.8% in the year-on-year period. However, in relation to the previous quarter there was an increase of 1.6%.

NOTE:

Included as persons employed considered in this and other short-term indices, are those covered by an ERTE (Temporary Labour Force Adjustment Plan), following the definition of persons employed indicated by the Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat) in its manual Methodology of Short Term Business Statistics.

The models used in the correction of calendar effects and deseasonalisation of the series include the effect of COVID-19 on the variables studied, following the recommendations of the Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat) (Eurostat) in its methodological note Guidance on Time Series Treatment in the context of the COVID-19 crisis.

Eustat would like to thank all the establishments that have collaborated in making this effort despite the extraordinary circumstances. As a result, the index for the third quarter was calculated with 93.03% coverage of the sample - whose information was collected during October.

For further information:

Eustat - Euskal Estatistika Erakundea / Basque Statistics Institute C/ Donostia-San Sebastián, 1 01010 Vitoria-Gasteiz Press Service: servicioprensa@eustat.es Tel: 945 01 75 62