Press Release 14/12/2022

BASQUE BUSINESS STRUCTURE AND DEMOGRAPHY. 01/01/2022

The number of companies in the Basque Country fell by 0.9% and employment rose by 0.2% in 2022

77% of companies with 100 or more employees were based in the Basque Country

As of 1 January 2022, there were 151,088 companies operating in the Basque Country in various sectors of economic activity, 1,466 companies fewer than the previous year (-0.9%), according to Eustat data. These companies carried out their activities in 168,483 establishments (factories, shops, offices, etc.), also 1,411 fewer than the year before (-0.8%). These establishments were distributed amongst Álava (14.4%), Bizkaia (51.8%) and Gipuzkoa (33.8%).

Staff registered in these establishments recorded a slight positive variation of 0.2% after the exceptional situation marked by the health crisis caused by COVID-19. There are three sectors which recorded above-average positive rates: Information and Communication (5.1%), Public Administration, Education and Health (2.3%) and Construction (1.1%)

Among the sectors in decline, it is worth highlighting the Agricultural and fishing sector with 7.8% less employment this year and that of Financial and Insurance Activities, with 2.5% less.

As regards structure, the largest sector, in terms of number of establishments, was Trade, Transportation and Hospitality, with 35.7% of the total, followed by Professional Activities and Support Services (16.3%) and Construction (11.9%).

The distribution of establishments according to their size remained very similar to previous years. Barely 2,553 establishments, 1.5% of the total, were establishments with an average of 50 or more employees, despite accounting for 41.5% of the total number of employees as a whole. On the other hand, 122,164 establishments, almost three-quarters of the total, were small (fewer than 3 employees) and accounted for 16.1% of all those in work. Even so, during this year, it is in establishments with less than 3 employees that most employment has been lost: 2,603 fewer employed people. In contrast, employment grew most in the strata of 10-19 and more than 50 employees, up 2,498 and 2,140 jobs respectively.

As regards the average size of the establishments by the largest branches of activity, the greatest concentration of employed individuals was recorded in the Industry, Energy and Sewerage sector, with an average size of 16.3 employees per establishment in the Basque Country overall, with Álava standing out with 20.3; the average size in Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa was 14.4 and 16.6 employees per establishment, respectively.

By sex, 44.5% of people employed in the Basque Country during 2021 were women, half a point higher than the previous year. In fact, a positive balance was registered for women (+5,737), in contrast to the negative balance for men (-3,421). The sectors with most female employees were Healthcare and Social Services (77.4% women), Education (68.7%) and Services (62.5%). By contrast, the sectors in which the majority of employees were male were Construction (89.5%), Industrial and Primary, with slightly more than 79% in both cases.

COMPANIES

Of the total of companies (legal units) that provide support for establishments’ activities, 97.1% were based in the Basque Country and 4,387 in the rest of Spain. Of those with 100 employees or more, the percentage based in the Basque Country reached 77%. Bizkaia accounted for slightly more than half the companies based in the Basque Country, with 76,050 companies; Gipuzkoa had 49,926 (33.0%) and Álava 20,725 (13.7%).

The average size of companies in the Basque Country remained stable, with 6.0 employees per company and 5.4 per establishment. Companies under individual ownership only had 1.4 employees, both per company and establishment, whereas for the other legal forms these averages reached 12.6 and 10.1 employees, respectively.

BUSINESS DEMOGRAPHICS

In relation to age, it is worth noting the presence of recent companies on the Basque business scene. 30.9% of companies operating in the Basque Country were five years old or less and the percentage of those in operation for two years or less stood at 13.7%.

Regarding rotation, and taking into account establishment openings and closures, 13,019 began and 14,430 ceased trading during 2021, with a negative balance of 1,411 establishments. The establishment birth rate (quotient between those created and the stock) was 7.7% and the death rate was 8.6%. As a result, the net growth rate was negative (-0.8%).

The greatest rotation was seen in the branches of Trade, Transportation and Hotel Management & Catering, with 29.0% of new openings and 32.0% of closures, Professional Activities and Support Services, with 18.0% of new openings and 17.9% of closures and Construction, with figures of 16.5% and 16.2% respectively.

In the analysis of demography by legal status, the establishments created under the individual ownership formula stand out for having generated 67.6% of new openings and 67.0% of closures.

In terms of individuals employed, individually-owned establishments accounted for 38.8% of jobs created in new establishments and 43.5% of jobs lost in establishment closures. Following these, Limited Companies accounted for 40.5% of jobs created in establishments opened and 33.0% of jobs lost in establishment closures.

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 89.3% of all new openings and 91.1% of all closures.

On the contrary, the stratum of large establishments, those with 50 or more employees, only accounted for 0.2% of new openings and 0.1% of closures. On the other hand, it accounted for 11.1% of all jobs created in new establishments and 7.8% of all jobs lost in establishment closures.

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