The consequences of the Covid pandemic, combined with the complex context of recent months, have wreaked havoc on the state. The destruction of the business fabric is proof of this, as Alicante now has 600 fewer firms than in 2019. And the truth is, the recovery over the past two years after the initial loss of 2,700 companies hasn’t been enough. Match the pre-pandemic census. While construction is the only sector currently offering better numbers than then, only two counties in particular l’Alacanti and Marina Altamanaged to own more companies than before the outbreak of the coronavirus.
Data published by the Valencian Statistical Institute (IVE) for the second quarter of this year, There are 61,119 companies registered with Social Security in Alicante province compared to 61,722 in the same period of 2019 before the arrival of the pandemic. So 603 companies less and this hit the bottom with 58,416 signatures after the quarantine, despite the improvement since June 2020.
Currently the only industry with more companies than 2019 is construction., given that it made up 6,801 when it reached 6,441 before the health crisis. The rest presents a negative balance, given that services have 46,317 firms compared to 46,891 and industry has 5,965 and 2,072 compared to 6,316, while agriculture has 1,981.
Regarding the regional distribution, currently only two counties have better numbers. These are l’Alacantí, which has 15,406 companies, up from 15,319 three years ago, and Marina Alta, which is 7,046 compared to 7,035. All other areas remain below 2019 records. Thus, Comtat now has the 958 and 917 three years ago; l’Alcoià, 3.371 and 3.403; Alto Vinalopó, 1555 and 1641; Orta Vinalopó, 4.856 and 5.061; Marina Baixa, 7,610 and 7,847; Alt Vinalopó, 9,349 and 9,425; and Vega Baja 11,170 and 11,263.
Paloma Taltavull, professor of Applied Economics at the University of Alicante, points out that a superficial analysis of this regional data reveals that the recovery is more dependent on service companies with more onshore assets than industrial companies. settled indoors. And he emphasizes that this is not good news. In his words, “we’re talking about manufacturing sectors like. textiles or shoesAccording to these figures, these will be the ones most affected by the crisis. And it’s a hard blow for the province, because we’re talking about exporting and therefore wealth generating companies.”
This fact, Taltavul adds, should reflect Governments in this sense: “should support the industry moreI’m not talking about money, I’m talking about plans and actions that make it possible to strengthen both competitiveness and productivity on issues such as new technologies,” he emphasizes.
Regarding the growth of the construction industry with 361 more companies than before the covid epidemic, Jesualdo Ros, general secretary of the Association of Property Developers of the State of Alicante (Provia), underlines that this is very small. companies. “The pandemic – beckons – has driven many people to decide to take on. home remodeling or remodelingand hence this increase was recorded. We’re also witnessing the ‘explosion’ of solar panels, so it takes effort to get the installations done.” .