The coronavirus pandemic was a huge setback for Spanish companies, causing many of them to close down and others to barely manage to avoid their disappearance. Nevertheless, 2022 has not been an easy year for companies eithersince the inflationary crisis as well as the war in Ukraine have interfered with their profits, leaving these companies in a delicate situation.
So much so that Spanish companies have registered more than 388 bankruptcy declarations in the last quarter of 2022, that is, 59.5% more compared to the previous period. Likewise, this percentage represents the second largest increase in the European Union (EU) behind Luxembourg (+78.1%) and the largest rebound in history since recording began in the third quarter of 2020, according to data from the European statistical office, Eurostat.
In this context, in the last quarter of 2022, bankruptcies increase in all sectors (industry, construction, market services), with the most significant increases in transportation, accommodation and food services, education, healthcare, and financial and insurance activities.
Despite these data, Our country has also shown the second largest increase in the registration of new companies, 7.4% morebehind the rise of 12.6% in Ireland in the last quarter of last year.
In the case of the European Union, the number (seasonally adjusted) of bankruptcy filings increased by 26.8% compared to the previous quarter, thus reaching the highest levels since the data was recorded. Registrations of new companies in the EU have fallen by 0.2%, while in the third quarter of 2022, these increased by 3.1%.
In the euro zone, the number of bankruptcy declarations increased by 27.4% compared to the previous quarter, when these increased by 20.1% compared to the second quarter of 2022. Contrary to the data from the EU, the registration of new companies in the euro zone increased by 1.6%, while in the third quarter the number of company registrations increased by 2% compared to the second quarter.
In the economy as a whole (industry, construction, market services), the number of bankruptcy filings showed a downward trend in 2015 and 2016although it subsequently continued to rise from the first quarter of 2017 to the third quarter of 2019.
In the first two quarters of 2020, bankruptcy filings in all sectors of the economy decreased, due to the extraordinary financial support provided by governments in the first months of the pandemic.
Las bankruptcy filings increased continuously during the last two quarters of 2022 in all sectors of the economy, with the exception of transport, since this decreased in the third quarter of last year.