sales rise in retail trade
Retail trade in April showed a 5% year‑over‑year increase, according to the National Institute of Statistics (INE). The pace was 4.9 percentage points slower than the month before. The April results mark five consecutive months of positive annual growth for the retail sector, as reported by INE on Tuesday.
The April data reveal a broadening growth trend across the retail chain. Within the sector, food sales edged up 0.9% from April 2022, while other product categories climbed 14.2% year over year. When adjustments are made for seasonal and calendar effects, retail trade invoices declined by 4.4 points from March, yet rose 5.5% in April overall.
sales momentum persists
Looking at month‑to‑month changes, retail trade rose by 0.9% in the seasonally adjusted series from April to March, reflecting the strongest monthly increase since November 2022 and slightly higher than March by two tenths of a point.
Among product groups, food sales fell by 0.1% in April compared with March. Conversely, other products posted a 2% gain, household goods declined by 0.6%, and personal equipment surged by 10.2% year over year in April versus March.
Across distribution channels, all formats posted positive monthly gains in April. The largest rise occurred in single‑location stores (+4%), followed by small chains (+2.1%), large chains (+1%), and department stores (+0.3%).
employment trends
In terms of employment, the retail sector registered a 1.8% annual increase in jobs, up slightly from the previous month. This improvement supports 24 consecutive months of annual job growth in retail compared with the same period a year earlier. Within the chain, large formats led employment gains at +3.7%, followed by small chains at +2.1% and single‑location stores at +1%.
On a monthly basis, employment in the sector rose by 0.6%, with small chains recording a 1.4% uptick in hiring.
regional variations
Regional retail sales posted year‑over‑year gains in most autonomous communities in April, with the notable exception of Castile and León, which did not see an increase and was slightly negative. The Balearic Islands posted the strongest year‑over‑year rise at +12.4%, followed by Madrid at +10.4% and the Valencian Community at +7.1%. The Basque Country, Aragon, and Murcia showed modest increases around +0.7% each.
Employment in retail rose in 16 communities, led by the Balearic Islands at +5.3% and the Canary Islands at +4.2%, with Extremadura showing a 3.7% gain. By contrast, Asturias registered a 1.8% year‑over‑year decline in retail activity, and Ceuta also trended down by 0.9%.
Source data from the INE provides a comprehensive view of how consumer demand, pricing, and store formats interact across regions. Analysts note that ongoing employment growth supports household purchasing power, while the mixed regional performance reflects differences in tourism, local economies, and household consumption patterns. [INE, April data report, attribution]