Press Release 26/07/2023

2021 SERVICES SURVEY: SUNDRY SERVICES

Record turnover for the Basque Country’s Sundry Services sector: more than 9,000 million euros in 2021

The greatest increases were in Cultural Activities (up by 89.9%) and Courier Activities (up by 60.5%)

In 2021, the year after the COVID-19 pandemic began (and the year in which the most restrictive measures on economic activity were lifted), turnover for establishments in the Sundry Services sector was 9,104 million euros: an increase of 17.8% on the previous year, according to Eustat data.

The number of establishments rose by 1.3% to a total of 23,851, while the number of people employed rose by 1% to a total of 82,188 workers. The added value generated by establishments in the Sundry Services sector grew by 11.1% to 4,539 million euros.

Source: Eustat. Services survey

Period availables 201220132014201520162017201920202021

The categories with the greatest increase in turnover compared to 2020 were Cultural Activities (up by 89.9%) and Postal and Courier Activities (up by 60.5%)

The Sundry Services sector consists of a very heterogeneous group of activities. The categories that stood out were Ancillary Transport Activities and Computing: the former boasted turnover of 3,272 million euros, accounting for 35.9% of the sector’s total, while the latter’s turnover was 1,549 million euros, or 17% of the total. Together, they accounted for 53% of total turnover, although they only represented 33.8% of people employed and 13.5% of establishments in the Sundry Services sector.

Ancillary Transport Activities employed 11,344 people at just over 1,000 establishments (1,062), while the 2,165 establishments in Computing provided a total of 16,461 jobs in 2021. Sales were up in comparison to 2020: by 11.6% for Ancillary Transport Activities, and 7.1% for Computing.

Employment in the latter category rose by 4.2%, reaching a total of 16,461 jobs (the highest since records began), while the number of establishments also grew by 2.2%. However, employment levels in Ancillary Transport Activities fell by 3.1%, while the number of establishments remained more or less the same, with just one fewer than in 2020.

Source: Eustat. Services survey

Period availables 201220132014201520162017201920202021

The category with the third-highest turnover was Cultural Activities, which accounted for 1,022 million euros in 2021: an increase of 89.9% on 2020. However, this is still lower than the spectacular record turnover of 1,069 million euros in 2019, particularly considering that the equivalent figure in previous years was barely over 800 million euros. Nonetheless, 2021 still witnessed the second-highest turnover in the category’s history. In 2021, Cultural Activities provided employment for 7,619 people across 2,774 establishments, setting a new record in both cases. In comparison to the previous year, employment grew by 4% and the number of establishments by 4.1%.

In terms of turnover, the fourth-placed category in 2021 was Sport and Recreational Activity, which accounted for almost 816 million euros and provided employment for 10,365 people across 1,801 establishments. In 2021, turnover was up 16.4%, employment increased by 0.3% and the number of establishments rose 5.4%.

Similar turnover figures were posted by Property Activities, which reached a total of 705.4 million euros; however, this category only employed around half the number of people (5,208), albeit in a larger number of establishments (3,041). In 2021, while turnover in this category rose by 12.1%, but employment fell by 0.4% and the number of establishments fell decreased by 1.6%.

Other Personal Services includes diverse activities such as Hairdressing and Other Beauty Treatments, Washing and Cleaning of Clothing, and Physical Maintenance Activities, among others. As a whole, these activities also experienced a significant increase in turnover (16.1%), reaching a total of 456 million euros, as well as a more modest increase in the number of establishments (1%). In contrast, employment fell by 1.4%. Despite the additional 63 million euros in turnover, in 2021 Other Personal Services remained significantly below the figures recorded for 2019. That year, turnover reached a total of 539 million euros: some 15.4% higher than the equivalent figure for 2021.

The Auxiliary Financial Services category also saw turnover rise by 10.1%, while employment grew by 1.1% and the number of establishments by 1.9%.

The next-largest category was Postal and Courier Activities, whose turnover increased significantly from 191 million euros in 2020 to 306 million euros in 2021: an increase of 60.5% (and 19% higher than the equivalent figure for 2019). Employment figures also rose (by 6.2%), as did the number of establishments (by 2.9%).

The remaining activities, whose turnover figures did not exceed 200 million euros in 2021, also recorded increases in turnover although the evolution of the other two variables was uneven.

For example, turnover for the Audiovisual, Film, Radio and Television category grew by a substantial 22.8%; however, due to the sharp fall of 27.9% recorded in 2020 its turnover was still down by 11.5% on 2019. Employment also increased (by 6.7%), as did the number of establishments (by 4.9%). Meanwhile, Publishing activities posted a 10.8% increase in turnover and a 0.5% increase in employment, although the number of establishments fell by 2.5%. Lastly, Repair of Computers and Other Articles posted the lowest turnover figures, with a 10% decrease in 2021 turnover, which is 13.6% away from the 2019 figures. The figures for employment and the number of establishments also fell, by 7.9% and 5.9%, respectively.

Provincial analysis

Turnover for the Sundry Services sector increased in Gipuzkoa (22%), Bizkaia (17.5%) and Álava (10.8%)

In terms of provincial distribution, and with regard to the number of establishments, more than half (12,902) were located in Bizkaia, while 7,845 were in Gipuzkoa and 3,104 in Álava. In relative terms, and in the same order, they accounted for 54.1%, 32.9% and 13%, respectively.

For the range of activities as a whole, all three provinces saw an increase in the number of establishments compared to 2020: specifically, 3.5% in the case of Álava, 1.8% in Gipuzkoa and 0.6% in Bizkaia.

In the three provinces, the largest activity group in terms of quantity was Other Personal Services, with 3,784 establishments in Bizkaia (29.3% of all establishments in the province), 2,361 in Gipuzkoa (30.1%) and 886 in Álava (28.5%).

Regarding employment, in 2021 the provincial distribution of total employment in the Basque Country's Sundry Services sector was as follows: 56.1% of jobs were located in Bizkaia, 29.2% in Gipuzkoa and 14.7% in Álava. In other words, there were 46,100 people employed in this sector in Bizkaia, 24,033 in Gipuzkoa and 12,055 in Álava.

In comparative terms, the main activities by province were Computing in Bizkaia (accounting for 23.6% of total employment), Other Personal Services in Gipuzkoa (18.3%) and Ancillary Transport Activities in Álava (18.4%). Other noteworthy activities in terms of the number of jobs were Computing in Álava (accounting for 17.6% of the total), Other Personal Services in Bizkaia (16.5%) and Sport and Recreational Activities in Gipuzkoa (14.4%).

In the most recent year for which data is available, each of the three provinces experienced positive evolution in terms of employment figures, with Álava posting an increase of 2.9%, Gipuzkoa 1.5% and Bizkaia 0.3%.

For its part, turnover also underwent a very positive evolution across the three provinces: Gipuzkoa recorded a sizeable increase of 22%, Bizkaia a substantial increase of 17.5%, and Álava a very positive increase of 10.8%.

These increases in turnover were accompanied by growth in the employment figures, which rose by 6.6% in Álava, 6% in Gipuzkoa and 5.7% in Bizkaia.

Note: The Sundry Services section of the 2021 Services Survey consists of those establishments whose sole or main activity, in accordance with the CNAE-09, falls within one of the following activity categories: 52, 53, 58, 59, 60, 62, 63, 66, 68, 90, 91, 92, 93, 95 and 96.

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