Industry turnover rose 31.7 percent in June from the same month in 2021, driven largely by higher sales in the energy sector, according to data released this Thursday by the National Institute of Statistics. This notable year over year gain comes as the sector enjoyed promotions for 16 straight months after a year of negative rates during the Covid crisis.
On a month basis, from June to May, seasonally and calendar adjusted data show industry sales up nearly 2.2 percent. That marks a jump of two percentage points over May and represents the third consecutive month of growth.
Service sector sales increased
Meanwhile, the services sector recorded a turnover rise of 23.4 percent in June compared with June of 2021, although this was 4.2 points lower than the rate observed in May. The service chain posted its strongest gains in the year so far, continuing a pattern of year over year increases for 16 consecutive months after the pandemic-related slowdown.
Within services, the accommodation and food services subsector led the gains with a 54.2 percent increase in June over the prior year. Specifically, accommodation services surged more than double in June with a year over year rise of 115.7 percent, while food and beverage services climbed 32.9 percent.
The growth in hotel related activities and travel services was echoed by a significant surge in air freight and related travel services, increasing by more than twofold and more than threefold respectively at the six month mark. Trade also supported the rise as annual turnover grew by 21.4 percent, with other services including hotels climbing 27.5 percent versus June last year.
In trade, wholesale activity led with a 26.9 percent annual increase, followed by retail trade at 14.9 percent and vehicle sales and repairs at 5.2 percent higher than the prior year. The strongest annual gains within other services were in accommodation at 54.2 percent, administrative activities and ancillary services at 42.2 percent, transport and storage at 33.1 percent, and professional, scientific and technical activities at 13.7 percent, with information and communication up 11.4 percent.
Across autonomous communities, all reported higher annual activity in the services sector. The Balearic Islands posted the largest upswing at 62 percent, followed by the Canary Islands at 40 percent, Galicia at 29.3 percent, Navarra at 29.2 percent, and Madrid at 24.5 percent. Smaller gains were registered in Cantabria and Extremadura at 14.5 percent, and La Rioja at 15.4 percent.
After adjusting for calendar effects and seasonality, services sector sales rose 23.5 percent in June year over year, a 3.1 percentage point drop from May. In the first six months of the year, services overall grew 23.5 percent on average, with the seasonally adjusted series showing a 23.1 percent rise. Travel agencies soared 320.2 percent, accommodation services 223.5 percent, and air transport 171.8 percent.
Monthly sales are falling
In month on month terms, seasonally adjusted data show services sector sales slipping 1.1 percent in June after two months of gains. Several sub sectors did increase, up 1.6 percent overall, with accommodation up 3 percent and professional activities up 1.9 percent. Information and communication rose 1.6 percent, transport and storage 1.4 percent, and administrative activities 0.7 percent.
In commerce, sales decreased by 2.1 percent from May. Wholesale trade fell 1.6 percent, while retail trade and vehicle sales and repairs edged higher by 1.1 percent and 1.7 percent respectively. The strongest monthly gains among sub sectors came from events and media activities plus a 57.6 percent rise in entertainment related activities, followed by legal activities and consultancy up 8.7 percent and air transport up 5.5 percent.
Among the notable monthly declines were accommodation services down 6.1 percent from May, travel agencies down 4.4 percent, and wholesale trade down 1.6 percent.
Slows job growth
For the fifteenth consecutive month, after more than a year of decline, employment in the services sector grew in June at an annual rate of 4.8 percent, slightly lower than in May. The June occupancy rate in other services rose 6.5 percent year over year and climbed 2.2 percent compared with May. Within services, the hotel sector led with a 13.2 percent year over year rise in employment.
Across all regions, year over year employment in the service sector increased. The Balearic Islands again led with a double-digit rise, while Aragon, the Canary Islands, Catalonia, Extremadura, and Madrid also posted solid gains. Castilla y León and La Rioja posted more moderate increases, with Cantabria and Cantabria-like regions showing smaller improvements.