The acting Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism, Héctor Gómez, has stated that “the growth of retail trade and the good performance of employment are indicative of the strength of our proximity productive fabric”.

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Retail sales have grown by 6.7% so far this year over 2022

According to the Retail Trade Indices (ICM) of the INE, in September 2023 sales at constant retail prices recorded an annual variation rate of 6% in the original series and 6.5% in the series corrected for seasonal and calendar effects. With this data, retail sales have now risen for ten months.

Sales increased in year-on-year terms in September 2023 in all autonomous communities. Specifically, the best performers were the Valencia Region (9.1%) and the Balearic Islands (8.8%). Average sales at constant prices in the first nine months of the year also increased by 6.7% year-on-year.

For the acting Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism, Héctor Gómez, “the growth of retail trade and the good performance of employment are indicative of the strength of our local productive fabric. The confidence of traders and consumers is improving in a fundamental sector for thousands of small companies and workers”. The head of the Ministry also highlights the importance of this sector in employment, “representing a good percentage of the total economy and highlighting the role of women in the growth of the sector and of Spain”.

Employment generated by retail trade
According to the Employment Indices of the ICM (INE), employment in retail trade registered in September 2023 an annual variation rate of 1.8%, the same value as the previous month. By mode of distribution, year-on-year employment increased in unilocalized companies (0.7%), in small chains (3.5%), large chains (3.5%) and large stores (0.2%). The year-to-date average through September 2023 grew by 1.8% year-on-year at the national level.

The average number of Social Security affiliates (Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration) in retail trade reached 1,914,497 in October 2023, an all-time high for the month, 21,668 more than in the same month of the previous year (1.1% year-on-year).

According to the Labor Force Survey (INE), in the third quarter of 2023, retail trade reached 1,992,500, 152,100 more employed than in the same quarter of the previous year (8.3% year-on-year). This represents 9.4% of the total number of employed persons in Spain. Furthermore, 62.9% of those employed in the sector are women, compared to 46.5% in the economy as a whole.

According to the State Public Employment Service (SEPE), registered unemployment in retail trade decreased by 5.6% in October 2023 with respect to the same month of the previous year to 261,507 unemployed (15,588 fewer unemployed). In the trade sector as a whole (CNAE 45, 46 and 47), registered unemployment fell by 6.1% year-on-year, while it fell by 5.3% in the economy as a whole.

Confidence indicators
The retail trade confidence indicator prepared by the European Commission in Spain in October 2023 improved by 1.4 points with respect to the previous month to 3.6 points. This indicator improves by 5.4 points compared to the same month of the previous year (-1.8 points in October 2022). Spain’s indicator is higher than those corresponding to the EU27, the Eurozone, as well as those of the main European economies.

According to the consumer confidence indicator, which is also prepared monthly by the European Commission, in Spain it improved 0.6 points in October 2023 with respect to the previous month, to -19.7 points. In turn, this value improves 11.2 points with respect to the same month of the previous year (-30.9 points).