Press Release 19/05/2022

INDUSTRIAL SURVEY. REGIONS. 2020

Employment in the manufacturing industry increased in the regions of Añana, Montaña Alavesa and Plentzia-Mungia in 2020, despite the pandemic

Montaña Alavesa in Álava (-1.7%), Plentzia-Mungia in Bizkaia (-2.6%) and Urola Kosta in Gipuzkoa (-6.9%) were the regions that best withstood the drop in sales

Despite the restrictions on activity imposed in 2020 to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, employment in the extraction and manufacturing industries grew in three of the twenty regions of the Basque Country in 2020, according to Eustat data.

The average decrease in the Basque Country was 3.3%, with positive growth in employment recorded in Añana (4.3%) and Montaña Alavesa (0.6%) in Álava and Plentzia-Mungia (3.2%) in Bizkaia.

At provincial level, sales were down in all three provinces compared to 2019. They fell by 14.1% in Gipuzkoa, 16.3% in Álava and 22.7% in Bizkaia, with the drop for the Basque Country as a whole standing at 18.4% in respect of 2019. Net sales at the regional level followed the same trend: all twenty Basque regions posted negative annual growth rates, with Montaña Alavesa in Álava, down 1.7%, and Plentzia-Mungia in Bizkaia, with a decline of 2.6%, once again being the least affected regions. In the case of Gipuzkoa, Urola Kosta (-6.9%) was the least affected region.

Source: Eustat. Industrial Survey

Period availables 200920102011201220132014201520162017201820192020

Gross value added, which is the difference between the value of what is produced and that of the consumption utilised and represents the wealth generated, registered a fall of 15.2% in 2020. The regional trend was only positive for one region, Montaña Alavesa, which saw its valued added increase by 12.6% from 2019 to 2020.

Álava

Employment in the extraction and manufacturing industries decreased by 3.1% in Álava as a whole. However, as mentioned above, employment grew in two of its regions, namely Añana and Montaña Alavesa, with rises of 4.3% and 0.6%, respectively.

Besides these increases, employment in the other regions in this province dropped by varying degrees. It fell by 5.5% in Cantábrica Alavesa, 4.9% in Estribaciones del Gorbea and 1.4% in the case of Rioja Alavesa. In Llanada Alavesa, the region where the provincial capital, Vitoria-Gasteiz, is located, it was down 3.3%.

As regards sales, it should be pointed out that in the province of Álava net sales decreased by 16.3% compared to 2019, a trend marked by the region of Llanada Alavesa, where sales were down 15.0% on the previous year, 2019. This region, where the provincial capital, Vitoria-Gasteiz, is located, represented the highest percentage of total sales in the province (71.8% of sales), as well as the highest percentage of jobs (63.5%).

Sales in the other regions in the province declined by varying degrees. Three of them experienced a drop of more than 15%: Cantábrica Alavesa (-25.2%), the second largest region in terms of turnover and volume of employment, accounting for 10.1% of total turnover in Álava and 13.9% of jobs; Estribaciones del Gorbea (-23.2%) and Rioja Alavesa (-16.0%). There was also a significant fall in sales of 7.1% in Añana, which was followed by Montaña Alavesa with a decrease of 1.7%.

Gross value added for the Basque Country as a whole dropped by 15.2% in 2020. The regional trend was only positive for one of the twenty regions of the Basque Country, namely Montaña Alavesa, which increased its value added by 12.6% from 2019 to 2020. The province of Álava as a whole recorded a 13.6% decline in value added and all its regions, with the exception of Montaña Alavesa, saw a negative variation, with particularly significant decreases in Cantábrica Alavesa (-19.2%) and Estribaciones del Gorbea, with a drop of 17.9%. These regions were followed by Llanada Alavesa (-12.8%) and, sharing the same decrease, Rioja Alavesa and Añana D -12% and -11.9%).

Bizkaia

In Bizkaia, the average decrease in employment for the province stood at 3.7% and only one of its seven regions posted a positive annual variation, Plentzia-Mungia, where employment rose by 3.2%. Among the other regions, the sharpest decline was seen in Gernika-Bermeo, with 6.8% less employment, followed by Markina-Ondarroa and Encartaciones, both down 4.8%. Decreases were also seen in Arratia-Nervión (-4.7%), Duranguesado (-4.1%) and Gran Bilbao (-3.7%).

Two regions set the negative trend with regard to sales in the province, where there was a total drop of 22.7%. These were Gran Bilbao, which absorbed 63.6% of total turnover, and Duranguesado, with 20.7%, together contributing 84.3% of total sales recorded in Bizkaia. Both these regions experienced a downward trend in sales of 24.7% and 22.7%, respectively, compared to 2019. The first, which is in Bilbao, the provincial capital, accounted for 54% of employment and the second accounted for 24.7%, equal to almost 80% of total jobs. However, Gernika-Bermeo was the region in Bizkaia where sales fell the most, by as much as 25.2%, although its contribution to the total only represented 3.1% of sales.

The other regions in this province, whose figures were also negative, saw less pronounced decreases than those mentioned above: there was a decline in sales of 16.0% in Markina-Ondarroa, 11.8% in Arratia-Nervión and 10.0% in Encartaciones, while the drop stood at just 2.6% in Plentzia-Mungia, making it the least affected region in the province.

In turn, Bizkaia was the province that experienced the biggest decrease in value added, at 19.1%. As was the case in Gipuzkoa, all its regions posted negative trends, especially Gran Bilbao, with a fall of 23.2%, which was also the region that accumulated just over half of the value added for this province. This region was followed by Duranguesado, down 17.5%, Gernika-Bermeo with -13.9% and Encartaciones with -12.9%. At the bottom of the list were Markina-Ondarroa, Arratia-Nervión and Plentzia-Mungia, with drops of 10.7%, 8.9% and 3.8%, respectively.

Gipuzkoa

Gipuzkoa was the province where the effects on employment were felt the least (-3.0%). Despite this, all its regions saw their figures fall to some extent. In Tolosaldea, for example, employment showed hardly any change (-0.3%), while at the other end of the scale was Alto Deba, the worst affected region, where the drop stood at 6.0%. In between the two were the regions of Bajo Bidasoa, down 4.4%, Bajo Deba, with a decrease of 4.2%, Donostialdea and Goierri, both with 2.4% less employment, and, lastly, Urola Kosta (-1.1%).

Gipuzkoa’s comparatively less negative trend in employment can also be seen in sales. Despite a 14.1% reduction in turnover in 2020, this figure was far from the 22.7% drop in Bizkaia and below the 16.3% decrease recorded in Álava.

The percentage weight of total sales in the regions in the province as a whole varied between 4.5% in Bajo Bidasoa and 24.5% in Donostialdea. Goierri, with 21.3%, and Alto Deba, with 15.8%, had similar shares.

At regional level, the evolution of sales between 2019 and 2020 ranged from 6.9% less turnover in Urola Kosta to 19.9% less in Alto Deba. Closer to the provincial average were Goierri, with a 16.4% fall in sales, Bajo Deba with 15.4% less, Bajo Bidasoa with a drop of 14.1% and Tolosaldea, down 10.5%.

Donostialdea, the region where the provincial capital is located, saw its sales decline by 12.9% and its weight in Gipuzkoa’s overall sales was very similar to its share of employment. Donostialdea accounted for 24.5% of sales and 25.0% of jobs in the province, both of which were lower figures than those of the other regions with provincial capitals in respect of their province.

Gipuzkoa was the province in which the wealth generated decreased the least compared to the previous year, with the value added falling by 12.3%. Among its regions, the greatest contraction in value added occurred in Bajo Deba, where it was 16.1% lower than in 2019, followed by Bajo Bidasoa, Goierri, Alto Deba and Donostialdea, down 15.2%, 14.9%, 13.7% and 11.8%, respectively. The two remaining regions benefited from less negative variations of below 10.0%: Tolosaldea, with a drop of 8.5%, and Urola Kosta, down 6.1%.

Methodological note:

The sectorisation used is the National Classification of Economic Activities (CNAE-2009), with B (extractive industries) and C (manufacturing industries) being the only sections included in this disaggregation by regions.

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