The start of 2023 continues to offer good indicators for the economy of Gipuzkoa. If yesterday the employment record was broken thanks to tourism and industry, today it has been revealed that companies in Gipuzkoa have increased their sales in January and February of this year by 10.3% compared to the same period in 2022. domestic sales as exports, with the same percentage of 10.3%. In addition, the data is more relevant since it is compared with the first two months of last year, when the impact of the Ukrainian War, which began on February 24, did not yet exist, with the consequent energy costs and new increases in inflation. . Of course, February 2023 presents an increase of 7.2%, less than the 13.6% of January, although higher than that of December 2022.
At the same time, the number of people receiving work income from companies in Gipuzkoa has increased by 1.1% in the first two months. In salaries paid the increase has been much higher: +5.6%. The Provincial Council report corresponding to February of this year reflects that sales have increased in this two-month period in all sectors, but with greater strength in construction (27.7% more), mainly in contrast to the poor performance of this industry a year ago. Strong general growth has also occurred in industry (+8.9%) and services (+10.7%).
Regarding the exports of Gipuzkoan companies, the report reflects that they have increased by 10.3% in the first two months of 2023 compared to the same period in 2022. The EU is the main recipient with a growth of +14, 7% of what they buy from Gipuzkoan companies, while sales to other countries have grown by +4.7%. In the case of imports, they have decreased by -6.8% in total; but those from the EU have increased by 3.2%, while those from outside the euro zone have fallen considerably (-27.7%).
Employment and wages
The report studies other parameters such as employability and salaries. In the first case, the number of people employed by Gipuzkoa firms has increased by 1.1% in these first two months, in line with the good employment and affiliation data released yesterday. The greatest increase has been in construction (+2.0%), while in the industrial sector the increase has been +1.1%. The salaries paid by these companies, for their part, have increased by 5.6% in the territory, according to the foral report.
The information contained in this publication is obtained from the Value Added Tax declarations and the declarations of withholdings and payments on account of work income, economic activities and prizes, of non-financial companies that, with registered office in Gipuzkoa, present said declarations on a monthly basis.