Press Release 27/10/2021

LARGE STORES AND FOOD CHAINS TRADE INDEX. SEPTEMBER 2021

Sales at large stores and food chains in the Basque Country fell by 2.5% in September 2021

In the annual cumulative total up to September, sales were up 0.8%

Sales at large stores and food chains in the Basque Country in September 2021 registered a decrease of 2.5% at constant prices in respect of the same month of the previous year, according to Eustat data. However, compared to the previous month, there was a month-on-month increase of 1.5%.

In the year-to-date, the cumulative evolution over the first nine months of the year was positive, standing at 0.8% above that observed in the same period of the previous year.

In year-on-year terms, there was a downturn in both sales of food products and sales of other products at large stores and food chains, with decreases of 3.2% and 1.0%, respectively.

Sales in year-on-year terms dropped in all three provinces, albeit to varying degrees. Gipuzkoa was the worst affected province in this regard with a fall of 5.6%, followed by Álava with 3.7% and, lastly, Bizkaia with a drop of 0.3%.

Compared to the previous month, sales of both types of product at large stores and food chains saw similar improvement in September 2021. Thus, sales of food products rose by 1.6% and sales of other products were up 1.4%.

The month-on-month performance was positive in the three provinces. In Gipuzkoa, the month-on-month increase stood at 2.0%, in Bizkaia it was 1.5% and, lastly, in Álava it was 0.5%.

In the cumulative total for January to September 2021, the sales index of food products saw a decrease of 3.4% compared to the same cumulative period of the previous year. In contrast, the trend in sales of other products was positive, up 10.7% on the same cumulative period of 2020.

By province, the cumulative variation for the year to date was positive in the case of Bizkaia (2.8%) and Álava (2.0%), whereas in Gipuzkoa it was negative (-3.1%).

Lastly, the number of people employed in large stores and food chains in the Basque Country in September 2021 fell by 0.3% with regard to August 2021. Compared to the same month of the previous year, however, the index of employed people rose by 5.3%. In the cumulative total for the first nine months of 2021, the increase stood at 3.9%.

NOTE

Year-on-year variations are calculated using the series corrected for calendar effects and the month-on-month variations are calculated using the deseasonalised series.

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) 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 preparing the Large Stores and Food Chains Trade Index. As a result, the index for September 2021 was calculated with 97.5% coverage.

For further information:

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