- Activity accelerates in the second quarter and accumulates a positive year thanks to private consumption and investment
- Full-time jobs grow for the first time in annual rate since the second quarter of 2008, up to 0.8%
Economic activity accelerates in the second quarter of the year and accumulates four consecutive quarters in positive. The quarter-on-quarter rate of GDP stood at 0.6%, two tenths more than in the first quarter, at the highest rate since the fourth quarter of 2007. In year-on-year terms, GDP increased by 1.2%, seven tenths more than in the previous quarter, which consolidates the trend of progressive recovery started last year.
By components, national demand shows a more expansive evolution in the second quarter. It contributes 1.9 percentage points to the year-on-year change in GDP (0.7 points in the first), while net external demand subtracts 0.7 points from growth, half a point more than in the previous quarter (-0.2 points ).
Among the components of the national demand, highlights the higher rate of advance of final consumption consumption of households, which accelerated two tenths in quarter-on-quarter terms, up to 0.7%, and seven tenths in year-on-year terms, up to 2.4%. This last rate is the highest since the first quarter of 2008. The consumption of the Public Administrations, for its part, slows down more than four points to record a quarterly rate of 0.1% (4.4% the previous quarter) . Gross fixed capital formation resumes the expansionary behavior that began in the third quarter of 2013, with a quarterly rate of 0.5%. This recovery is explained by the rebound in construction investment, which went from decreasing 3.2% in the first quarter to growing 0.9% in the second, a positive rate for the first time since the third quarter of 2011 (+ 0.5%). For its part, investment in capital goods grew for the sixth consecutive quarter, 2% quarter-on-quarter, two tenths less than in the previous quarter.
The more negative contribution of net external demand to year-on-year GDP growth is explained by a slower growth in exports than in imports, with rates of 1.7% and 3.9%, respectively, lower by 5.7 and 4.7 points compared to the previous quarter. In quarter-on-quarter terms, exports grew again (1.3%) after the fall of the previous quarter (-1%), and imports accelerated six tenths, to 1.5%.
On the side of the offer and, in quarter-on-quarter terms, the GVA of the main branches of activity improved in the second quarter of the year, except that of the agrarian branch, which fell by 5.9%. Among the rest, the greatest advance was registered in the industry, with growth of 1.1% compared to the 0.6% drop in the previous quarter, followed by construction, with a rate of 0.9%, positive for First time since the first quarter of 2008. Lastly, services, whose GVA accelerated half a point, to 0.6%.
The interannual rate of deflator of GDP stands in negative territory for the second consecutive quarter, at -0.4% compared to -0.6% in the first quarter. This slight acceleration is explained both by the higher growth rate of the private consumption deflator, which grew by 0.2%, two tenths more than in the previous quarter, and by the moderation in the rate of decline of the gross formation deflator. of fixed capital and exports, 0.6 and 1.6 pp, respectively, up to -1.5% and -1.2%. The import deflator, meanwhile, also decreased less sharply, 0.5%, almost two points less than in the first quarter of the year.
The pace of creation of Equivalent full-time employment intensifies in the second quarter of 2014, half a point in quarter-on-quarter terms to 0.6%, which means the net creation of 96,500 full-time equivalent jobs, the highest number recorded since the first quarter of 2008 In interannual terms, employment grew by 0.8%, a positive rate for the first time since the second quarter of 2008. As a consequence of the evolution of GDP and employment, productivity per employed person decelerated four tenths in the interannual rate, until 0.4%. Compensation per employee goes from decreasing 0.1% in the first quarter to growing 0.3% in the second, so that unit labor costs (CLU) stabilize after falling 0.9% in the January period -March.
The Spanish economy presented in the second quarter of 2014 a financing capacity compared to the rest of the world of 10 million euros, 5,337 million euros lower than a year earlier. In terms of nominal GDP, it represents a financing capacity of 0% of GDP, 2 points lower than a year ago.
In short, the national accounting data for the second quarter of the year show the recovery of production and employment. On the one hand, it is verified that economic activity is gaining momentum, mainly due to the growth of all components of private demand. Investment in capital goods has been growing for six quarters and investment in construction has increased, a situation that has not occurred since 2011. Household consumption, on the other hand, achieved annual growth of 2.4%.
Likewise, the data for the second quarter also show the beginning of a path generating jobs, with the creation of 96,500 full-time equivalent jobs in terms of national accounting, and it is growing year-on-year for the first time since 2008 .
The economic balances achieved and the improvements in competitiveness achieved with the economic reforms carried out provide a solid basis to guarantee the continuation of the recovery in production and employment in the coming quarters.
