Press Release 30/05/2025

SERVICES SURVEY. SUNDRY SERVICES 2023

The economic indicators of the Sundry Services sector in the Basque Country have significantly improved, with the results for the year standing out, with a 23% growth

Repair of Computers and Other Articles (26.8%) and Audiovisual, Cinema, Radio and Television (23.3%) grew the most in terms of turnover

The Sundry Services sector obtained excellent results in the main economic indicators in 2023 in the Basque Country, according to Eustat data. The year-end profit grew by 23% compared with 2022, gross value added at factor cost by 7.8%, turnover by 6.1% – measured in nominal terms – and the number of establishments and labour productivity increased by 4.2% in both cases; lastly, employment was up 3.4%.

Firstly, the year-end profits grew from 938 million in 2022 to 1,154 million euros in 2023, marking an increase of 23% in the last year, and 183.9% from 2013. It is also worth mentioning the strong recovery post-2020, the year which saw a sharp fall as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Furthermore, in 2023 the turnover of establishments in the Sundry Services sector stood at 10,640 million euros, in nominal terms, which represents 6.1% more than the previous year, 2022, a year which already saw growth of 10.1% in this regardIf this figure is compared with that obtained ten years earlier, 2013, the increase stands at 47.3%, the highest value in the series and much higher than the average of practically all the variables analysed. This 2023 peak is also shared by most of the activities included in the sector.

Period availables 201420152016201720192020202120222023

Equally, the number of establishments rose by 4.2% to a total of 25,013, while the number of people employed rose by 3.4% to a total of 87,623 employees, compared to 84,716 the previous year.

Compared with 2013, the accumulated increase in the number of establishments reached 17.9%, which confirms an upward trend throughout the decade, marked by a relatively constant progression, with no significant downturns in the period observed.

For its part, the growth in employment is more significant if we consider that the previous year, 2022, saw growth of 3.1%. The comparison with the year 2013, ten years previously, reveals growth of 23.3%. This development points to a solid trend, with a certain amount of acceleration in the last two financial years.

In both cases, establishments and employment, the year 2023 saw the largest increases in the series, with the aforementioned increases of 17.9% and 23.3% respectively in comparison to the data from a decade ago.

Period availables 201420152016201720192020202120222023

With regards to gross value added at factor cost generated by Sundry Services establishments – which represents the wealth generated and is equivalent to gross production less intermediate consumption after adjustment for subsidies and indirect taxes – reached 5,115 million euros, and consolidated an upward trend, with growth of 7.8% in 2023. As for 2013, the accumulated growth reached 36.2%, showing sustained progress.

One synthetic economic indicator that measures the efficiency of company activity is apparent labour productivity, understood as the value added generated per person employed. For the Sundry Services sector as a whole, apparent labour productivity stood at 58,400 euros, 4.2% higher than in 2022. If we compare with 2013, the increase was 10.5% which, although more modest compared with the other variables due to its structural limitations, confirms the positive long-term trend.

Analysis by Division

Repair of Computers and Other Articles (26.8%) and Audiovisual, Cinema, Radio and Television (23.3%) grew the most in terms of turnover.

The Sundry Services sector consists of a very heterogeneous group of activities. The divisions that stood out were Ancillary Transport Activities and Computing:

The former boasted turnover of 3,911 million euros, accounting for 36.8% of the sector’s total, while the latter’s turnover was 2,035 million euros, or 19.1% of the total. Together, they accounted for 55.9% of total turnover, although they only represented 35.2% of people employed and 13.5% of establishments in the Sundry Services sector.

Ancillary Transport Activities employed 12,077 people at 1,052 establishments, while the 2,313 establishments in Computing provided a total of 18,776 jobs. Sales in these two divisions were up compared to the previous financial year, rising by 1.3% in Ancillary Transport Activities and 14% in Computing. The latter also improved in terms of employment and number of establishments, by 5% and 5.2%; Ancillary Transport Activities, for its part, increased its employment by 2.2%, and its number of establishments by 3.6%.

In third place with regard to turnover was the Cultural Activities division, which turned over 1,112 million euros, 3.9% more than the previous financial year. Cultural Activities provided employment for 7,945 people across 3,191 establishments; in comparison to the previous year, employment grew by 2.4% and the number of establishments by 8.4%.

The next division in terms of turnover was Sport and Recreational Activities, with 870 million, employing 11,649 people at 1,954 establishments. In the last financial year, it saw turnover rise by 2.5%, employment by 3.7% and the number of establishments by 2%.

Property Activities came close to the previous division in terms of turnover, with 758 million euros); this was not the case for employment, which was approximately half (5,242 people), or in terms of establishments (3,012). During the last year, it saw turnover grow by 10.3%, employment by 4.5%, and the number of establishments increase by 3.3%.

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 experienced an increase in turnover (5.8%), reaching a total of 520 million euros, as well as a rise in employment (0.8%) and the number of establishments (also 0.8%).

The Auxiliary Financial Services division performed similarly, with a positive performance with regard to turnover (up 7.8%), and a similar performance in terms of employment (2.4%) and in the number of establishments (3.4%).

Next were Postal and Courier Activities, whose solid growth in the number of establishments (19.7%) was accompanied by an increase in employment (7.4%) and turnover (6.3%) in 2023.

Meanwhile, Publishing activities saw turnover grow by 5.4%, although its employment fell by 3.4% as did its number of establishments, by 2.8%.

Lastly, Repair of Computers and Other Articles, the activity with the lowest turnover, increased its turnover figure by 26.8%, with the number of people employed growing by 4.1% and the number of establishments by 1.4%.

Provincial analysis

Turnover for the Sundry Services sector increased in Álava (6.5%), Gipuzkoa (6.3%) and Bizkaia (6%)

In terms of provincial distribution, and with regard to the number of establishments, more than half (13,599) were located in Bizkaia, while 8,140 were in Gipuzkoa and 3,274 in Álava. In relative terms, and in the same order, they accounted for 54.4%, 32.5% and 13.1%, respectively.

For the range of activities as a whole, all three provinces saw an increase in the number of establishments: specifically, 4.5% in the case of Bizkaia, 4% in Gipuzkoa and 3.9% in Álava.

In the three provinces, the largest activity group in terms of quantity was Other Personal Services, with 3,896 establishments in Bizkaia (29.1% of all establishments in the province), 2,335 in Gipuzkoa (29.5%) and 931 in Álava (28.4%).

Regarding employment, the provincial distribution of total employment in the Basque Country's Sundry Services sector was as follows: 56.8% of jobs were located in Bizkaia, 28.7% in Gipuzkoa and 14.5% in Álava. In other words, there were 49,771 people employed in this sector in Bizkaia, 25,113 in Gipuzkoa and 12,739 in Álava.

In comparative terms, the main activities by province were Computing in Bizkaia (accounting for 25.3% of total employment), Other Personal Services in Gipuzkoa (17.3%) and Ancillary Transport Activities in Álava (19.2%). Other noteworthy activities in terms of the number of jobs were Computing in Álava (17.9%) Personal Services in Gipuzkoa (15.6%) and Sport and Recreational Activities in Bizkaia (15.9%).

In the most recent year for which data is available, in terms of employment figures, each of the three provinces experienced positive change. Thus, Bizkaia posted an increase of 4.4% in employment, Gipuzkoa 2.2% and Álava 1.9%.

For its part, turnover also underwent a positive change across the three provinces: Sales were up 6.5% in Álava, they also grew in Gipuzkoa, by 6.3%, and 6% in Bizkaia.

Staff costs also saw increases. In Bizkaia they grew by 9.9%, in Gipuzkoa by 6.3% and in Álava by 4%.

In summary, the Diversified Services sector in the Basque Country closed 2023 with significant growth across all its economic indicators: turnover reached €10.64 billion, 6.1% more than in 2022 and 47.3% more than in 2013. Particularly noteworthy were IT (+14%), real estate activities (+10.3%), and financial auxiliaries (+7.8%). Cultural activities (+3.9%), sports and recreational activities (+2.5%), and transportation-related activities (+1.3%) also grew. At the regional level, turnover increased in Álava (+6.5%), Gipuzkoa (+6.3%) and Bizkaia (+6%), consolidating a positive trend throughout the region.

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