Press Release 16/02/2024

OTHER MARKET SERVICES INDEX. IV/2023

Sales in the Market Services sector in the Basque Country rose by 6% in 2023 as a whole

In the last quarter of the year, sales were up 2.5% compared to the fourth quarter of 2022

In 2023 as a whole, sales at constant prices in the Other Market Services sector increased by 6.0% in relation to 2022, according to Eustat data. The Other Market Services sector includes the sectors of Transport and Storage; Hospitality; Information and Communications; Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities and Administrative Activities and Auxiliary Services.

Evolution for the year overall was positive in all sectors except Administrative Activities and Auxiliary Services, where sales for 2023 as a whole were 0.9% lower than those recorded in 2022.

Among the remaining sectors, which obtained positive results over the course of 2023, Transport and Storage stood out, with growth for the year as a whole of 11.6%. In the Information and Communications sector, sales increased by 5.2% over the course of the year compared to 2022, and in Hospitality they were up 5.0%. In the Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities sector, the rise stood at 0.7%.

By province, in 2023, the sales index increased by 9.8% in Gipuzkoa, 7.0% in Álava and 3.7% in Bizkaia.

Taking into account that observed in the fourth quarter of 2023, sales in the Other Market Services sector in the Basque Country rose by 2.5% in relation to the same quarter of the previous year, at constant prices and once calendar effects had been eliminated.

Compared to the previous quarter, once corrected for seasonal effects, sales at constant prices remained unchanged (with a quarter-on-quarter rate of 0.0%).

Within the Other Market Services sector, the year-on-year recovery in real sales in the final quarter of the year was due to the good performance of the Information and Communications sector, where sales increased by 8.1%, and the Hospitality sector, where sales were up 4.6%. Sales also performed positively in the fourth quarter of the year in the sectors of Transport and Storage and Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities, with year-on-year growth of 1.5% and 1.3%, respectively. In the Administrative Activities and Auxiliary Services sector, however, sales decreased by 1.1% in relation to the same quarter of the previous year.

Compared to the third quarter of 2023, once corrected for seasonal effects, sales in real terms were down in Hospitality and Transport and Storage, falling by 1.3% and 0.1%, respectively. In the Information and Communications sector, however, there was a quarter-on-quarter rise in sales of 1.4%, and in Administrative Activities and Auxiliary Services, the increase stood at 0.8%. Lastly, sales in Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities remained at the same level as those seen in the previous quarter (with a quarter-on-quarter rate of 0.0%).

By province and compared to the fourth quarter of the previous year, the sales index was up 2.6% in Bizkaia, 2.3% in Gipuzkoa and 2.1% in Álava. In relation to the previous quarter, however, sales grew by 0.2% in Bizkaia, while in Álava and Gipuzkoa they fell by 0.2% and 0.3%, respectively.

The index of people employed in these services as a whole for the Basque Country fell in the fourth quarter of 2023 by 0.1% in year-on-year terms and 0.2% in quarter-on-quarter terms.

NOTE

Eustat would like to thank all the establishments that have collaborated with gathering information. As a result, the index for this quarter was calculated with 93.3% coverage.

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