Press Release 25/05/2023

CONSTRUCTION SURVEY. 2021

Turnover in the Construction sector was up 4.6% in the Basque Country in 2021

Employment also grew, but at a slower rate of 0.3%

In 2021, the Construction sector saw turnover increase by 4.6% compared to 2020, reaching 8,235 million euros in the Basque Country as a whole, according to Eustat data, following a drop of 18.5% in 2020, the year of the pandemic.

Broken down by province, establishments in Álava, with turnover of 1,171 million euros (14.2% of the total), registered the greatest increase of 7.4%. Bizkaia turned over 4,119 million euros, 50% of the Basque Country total, exceeding the income recorded in 2020 by 5.3%. Gipuzkoa saw a more moderate rise of 2.6%, with turnover of 2,945 million euros; this province accounted for 35.8% of the total for the Basque Country.

This 4.6% increase in sales was due to the positive performance seen to varying degrees across the different employment strata. In effect, the highest stratum, that of 20 or more employees, was the strongest performer by far, with an increase in sales of 8.5%. Following closely behind was the stratum without salaried workers, which saw turnover rise by 6.3%. Lastly, there was the stratum of 1 to 19 employees, where turnover grew by 1.9%. With these variations, the stratum of 1 to 19 employees accounted for 55.4% of total turnover, the stratum of 20 or more employees accounted for 37.4% and the stratum without salaried workers took up the remaining 7.2%.

21.3% of turnover was generated by construction of new residential buildings

As regards the type of property built, it should be pointed out that just over a fifth (21.3%) of turnover in the Construction sector in the Basque Country was due to construction of new residential buildings, although the greatest contribution came from renovation of residential buildings, with 22.5% of the sector’s total turnover.

New civil works (such as roads, sewage systems, dams, bridges, etc.) accounted for 11.9% and renovation of non-residential buildings and construction of new non-residential buildings (such as shops, warehouses, industrial buildings, buildings intended for tourism, recreation, etc.) represented 9.9% and 9.8%, respectively.

Employment figures stagnated at pandemic levels: only 0.3% of the loss of 2020 (-5.1%) was recovered in 2021

In 2021, employment in the Construction sector in the Basque Country only recovered 0.3% of the just over 3,200 jobs lost in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In absolute figures, this is an increase of slightly over 152 net jobs compared to the previous year, reaching a figure of 60,115 jobs in the Construction sector in the Basque Country in 2021.

At provincial level, employment in the Construction sector in Álava, which was up 0.8%, and particularly in Bizkaia, where it rose by 1.5%, was more dynamic than in Gipuzkoa, which, in contrast, saw a further 1.9% added to the 4% drop registered in 2020. As a result, in 2021, Bizkaia accounted for 53.0% of employment in the sector, Gipuzkoa 33.2% and Álava 13.8%.

Furthermore, the trend in employment concealed significant disparities according to establishment size. Thus, only the stratum with the highest employment, that of more than 20 people, registered an upturn in 2021, which stood at 4.9% (it saw a 6.5% decrease in 2020). For its part, the stratum of 1 to 19 people experienced a decline of 0.6% (-4.5% the previous year), while the group without salaried workers, self-employed people, the worst affected, saw employment fall by 2.8%, adding to the 4.7% loss in 2020.

Source: Eustat. Construction survey

Period availables 201920202021

The employment structure for 2021 was as follows: with 16,021 people, the stratum of more than 20 people accounted for 26.7% of total employment in construction; the stratum of 1 to 19 people, the largest, employing 29,350 people, represented almost half of total employment in the sector (48.8%); and, lastly, the stratum without salaried workers, self-employed people, with 24.5% of the total, 14,744 people, registered a drop of 2.8%.

In 2021, the evolution by province for the indicator of number of hours worked ran parallel to that described for employment: with an upturn of 1.7% in the Autonomous Region as a whole, Bizkaia stood out with an increase of 3.1% and there was a more moderate rise in Álava of 2.2%, while in Gipuzkoa, as was the case with employment, the trend was slightly negative (-0.6%).

In terms of size, the three main Construction subsectors were: Electrical Installations, Plumbing and Other Installations, with 18,552 jobs; Finishing Works, with 15,699 jobs; and Building Construction, with 11,248 people in work. Between them, they accounted for just over 75% of the total number of people employed in construction. In 2021, two of these subsectors posted a positive trend: employment rose by 2.0% in the Finishing Works subsector and was up 1.0% in Building Construction, while it remained unchanged in Installations.

It is worth noting that, in 2021, 11.1% of people employed in the Construction sector were women. This proportion was one percentage point higher than in 2020 (10.1%).

Gross value added at factor cost, which represents the wealth generated by the company, constitutes the contribution of labour and capital to the production process and is calculated by deducting the value of intermediate consumption from the value of output. This indicator grew by 0.6% in 2021, reaching 2,884 million euros, following an increase of 5.1% in Álava and 1.1% in Bizkaia and a drop of 1.8% in Gipuzkoa.

Source: Eustat. Construction survey

Period availables 201920202021

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