Press Release 13/07/2023

SERVICES SURVEY. PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES AND AUXILIARY SERVICES 2021

The Professional and Business Services sector recovered part of the loss suffered during the pandemic and its turnover was up 7.8% in the Basque Country in 2021

Small businesses with 10 to 49 employees drove the sector: they grew in terms of employment (2.2%), the number of establishments (2.3%) and, in particular, turnover (22%)

In 2021, the year the most restrictive measures imposed on economic activity due to COVID-19 were relaxed, turnover of establishments in the Professional and Business Services sector stood at 9,314 million euros, up 7.8% on 2020, according to Eustat data.

The number of establishments fell slightly by 1%, making a total of 27,327, while the number of people employed decreased by 2.3%, representing 127,878 workers.

In keeping with the significant increase in turnover, the value added generated by establishments in the Professional and Business Services sector reached 6,073 million euros, a rise of 8.1%.

Source: Eustat. Services survey

Period availables 201220132014201520162017201920202021

Source: Eustat. Services survey

Period availables 201220132014201520162017201920202021

Analysis by Section

The Professional and Business Services sector is comprised of two sections: Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities and Administrative Activities and Auxiliary Services.

The Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities section had 21,524 establishments and was dominant in terms of the number of establishments, accounting for 78.8% of the total. It also dominated in regard to turnover, with 6,249 million euros, representing 67.1% of the sector’s total. This was not the case with respect to employment, as its 63,254 employees accounted for slightly less than half of total employment in the sector (49.5%).

The gross value added for this section was well in excess of 3,965 million euros and even managed to increase by 5% in relation to 2020.

The Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities section saw a 4.8% rise in turnover, while it registered a drop of 1% in the number of establishments and 0.8% in employment in 2021 compared to 2020.

The Administrative Activities and Auxiliary Services section, with overall turnover of 3,066 million euros, represented 32.9% of total turnover in Professional Activities and Auxiliary Services. Its 64,624 jobs made up 50.5% of total employment and its 5,803 establishments accounted for 21.2% of all establishments in this activity sector.

In the case of Administrative Activities and Auxiliary Services, the gross value added, which stood at 2,108 million euros, recorded an increase of 14.4% in 2021 in respect of 2020.

The Administrative Activities and Auxiliary Services section saw the number of establishments fall by 0.9% and employment decline by 3.7%. Turnover, on the other hand, was up 14.3%.

Analysis by Division

In an analysis of results at a more disaggregated activity level, and within the Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities section, the divisions that stood out were Legal and Accounting Activities and Architectural and Engineering Services. With turnover of 3,034 million euros for the former, 48.6% of its division, and 2,012 million euros for the latter, 32.2% of the division, between them they accounted for 80.7% of total turnover, 74.5% of total establishments and 69.5% of jobs.

In 2021, the division of Legal and Accounting Activities employed 25,470 people at 10,576 establishments, while the 5,456 establishments in Architectural and Engineering Services provided 18,480 jobs. Compared to 2020, both divisions saw a rise in turnover: it was up 6.1% in the case of Legal and Accounting Activities and 3.5% in Architectural and Engineering Services. In terms of the number of establishments, both divisions registered a decrease, the former of 1.7% and the latter of 2%. Employment fell by 4.9% in Legal and Accounting Activities and grew by 0.9% in Architectural and Engineering Services.

As regards the remaining three divisions, Research and Development posted a negative performance, with turnover falling by 8% compared to 2020. In contrast, Other Professional Activities (which includes Design, Photography, Translation and Interpreting, and Veterinary Activities, among others) saw an increase of 9.9%, while turnover in the Advertising and Market Research division was up 13.8%.

There was an upward trend in employment in Research and Development Activities, with 3.7% more jobs than in 2020, despite a reduction of 1.2% in the number of establishments. In the Other Professional Activities division, employment rose by 1.5% and the number of establishments by 0.7%. A similar situation occurred in the Advertising and Market Research branch, which presented positive trends in both the number of establishments, up 3.8%, and the number of jobs, with growth of 6%.

Within the Administrative Activities and Auxiliary Services section, the Other Services Activities division (comprised of Security and Research Activities, Gardening and Building Services and Auxiliary Business Services) stood out for its contribution to the total. It accounted for three quarters of jobs and establishments within the section (79.7% and 73.9%, respectively). In 2021, its evolution was negative in terms of people employed (-1.5%) and the number of establishments (-0.6%); this was not the case for turnover, which was up 7.1%.

Outside of Other Services Activities, the other divisions had a much smaller share of the section. Travel Agencies accounted for 11.9% of establishments and 2.8% of jobs; 10.5% of establishments and 4% of jobs were in Rental Activities, and 3.8% and 13.5% of establishments and jobs, respectively, were in Employment-Related Activities.

All three registered increases in turnover. Of particular note was the recovery in turnover in Travel Agencies, which dropped considerably in 2020, but posted an upturn of 57% in 2021 compared to the previous year. Employment, on the other hand, fell by 3.4% and the number of establishments also declined by 5%. Rental Activities saw 13.5% growth in turnover, a rise of 0.4% in employment and 0.2% more establishments. Employment-Related Activities also recorded a considerable drop in employee numbers (-16.2%), although the number of establishments increased (5.3%) and turnover grew significantly (31.4%).

Provincial analysis

Turnover increased in all three provinces. It was up 10.1% in Álava, 9.3% in Bizkaia and 3.3% in Gipuzkoa

In terms of provincial distribution and looking at the number of establishments, 52.9% of the Basque Country total were located in Bizkaia, 33.6% in Gipuzkoa and 13.5% in Álava, with significant variations depending on the activity. For example, Legal and Accounting Activities accounted for 58.5% in Bizkaia, Research and Development Activities constituted 47.3% of the total in Gipuzkoa, and Employment-Related Activities represented 19.2% in Álava, to name the most representative in each province.

As regards employment, in 2021 the provincial distribution of the Basque Country total was 57.5% in Bizkaia, 28.5% in Gipuzkoa and 14% in Álava. In this case, the main activities by province were Travel Agencies in Bizkaia (63.6%), and once again in both provinces, Research and Development in Gipuzkoa (48.1%) and Employment-Related Activities in Álava (26.9%).

At provincial level, all three provinces registered positive changes in terms of turnover in 2021. Compared to 2020, there was a 10.1% rise in turnover in Álava, 9.3% in Bizkaia and 3.3% in Gipuzkoa.

The evolution of the number of establishments and employment varied by province. Regarding the former, it was down in all three, with decreases of 1.4%, 0.7% and 0.2% in Bizkaia, Gipuzkoa and Álava, respectively. As for employment, this fell by 3.2% in Gipuzkoa and 2.9% in Bizkaia, but rose by 1.8% in Álava.

With regard to staff expenditure, all three provinces recorded increases. It was up 11.8% in Álava, 6.1% in Bizkaia and 1.4% in Gipuzkoa.

Analysis by employment stratum

Small businesses with 10 to 49 employees drove the sector: they grew in terms of employment (2.2%), the number of establishments (2.3%) and, in particular, turnover (22%)

Analysing details of establishment size according to employment provided additional information.

Firstly, micro-enterprises, that is, establishments with fewer than 10 employees, represented 93.3% of total establishments, employed 32.7% of all staff and generated 39.1% of the sector’s turnover.

Small businesses, with 10 to 49 employees, represented 5.3% of establishments, provided employment for 22.8% of the sector and in 2021 generated 31.7% of turnover in the Professional Activities and Auxiliary Services sector as a whole. Finally, companies with 50 or more employees, with only 1.4% of establishments, employed 44.5% of the total and turned over a volume of 29.2% of the total.

The evolution between 2020 and 2021 was different for larger companies than for other companies. Companies with 50 or more employees saw a drop in employment, down 5.6%, as well as in the number of establishments (-0.3%) and turnover, which fell by 8.4%. In the case of micro-enterprises, with 1 to 9 employees, the number of establishments decreased by 1.2% and employment registered a slight decline of 0.6%. Turnover, on the other hand, was up 11.9%. Lastly, all indicators were positive for small companies, with 10 to 49 employees, which posted growth of 2.3% in the number of establishments, 2.2% in employment and 22% in turnover.

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