Press Release 23/12/2021

LARGE STORES AND FOOD CHAINS TRADE INDEX. NOVEMBER 2021

Sales in large stores and food chains in the Basque Country rose by 3.2% in November 2021

In the annual cumulative total, sales were up 0.7% and employment increased by 3.9%

In November 2021, sales in large stores and food chains in the Basque Country, compared to the same month of the previous year, registered an increase of 3.2% at constant prices, according to Eustat data. Compared to the previous month, the growth in sales at constant prices stood at 0.7%.

In the year-to-date, the cumulative evolution over the first eleven months of 2021 was positive, with an increase in sales of 0.7% in relation to the same cumulative period of the previous year.

In year-on-year terms, the rise in sales in large stores and food chains was due to the positive results in other food products, where sales rose by 17.2% in year-on-year terms, given that food sales were down 3%.

The year-on-year evolution of sales in the three provinces, although positive in all of them, was not homogeneous. In Bizkaia, the increase in sales stood at 4.8%, in Gipuzkoa it was 1.8% and, lastly, in Álava it was 0.4%.

In relation to October 2021, sales of both types of products in large stores and food chains continued to rise in November . Thus, sales of food products rose by 0.8% and sales of other products were up 0.6%.

The month-on-month performance was positive in two provinces, specifically, in Gipuzkoa with 2.4% and in Álava with 1.6%, whereas in Bizkaia it was negative, down 0.4%.

In the cumulative total for January to November 2021, the sales index of food products saw a decrease of 3.4% in relation to the same cumulative period of the previous year. In contrast, the evolution in sales of other products was positive, up 10.3% on the same cumulative period of 2020.

By province, the cumulative variation in the year-to-date was positive in Bizkaia and Álava, up 2.7% and 1.4%, respectively. In Gipuzkoa, however, cumulative sales in the eleven month of 2021 were down 2.8% on those observed in the same period of 2020.

The index of people employed in large stores and food chains in the Basque Country during November 2021 was down 0.9% in relation to the previous month. Compared to the same month of the previous year, however, the index of employed people rose by 4.5%. In the cumulative total for the first eleven months of 2021, finally, 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 November 2021 was calculated with 100% 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