- The annual rate stands at 0.5%, the first positive figure since mid-2011
- The contribution of the national demand has been positive in 0.7 points, for the first time since 2010
- Between January and March, 21,500 jobs have been created, almost double that at the end of last year
The Spanish economy accelerates growth and accumulates three quarters in a row after registering 0.4% at the end of March 2014. In year-on-year terms, GDP increased 0.5%, compared with a 0.2% decrease in the quarter Previous, which is the first positive rate since mid-2011. This consolidates the trend of progressive recovery of the Spanish economy.
By components, the national demand showed an expansive evolution in the first quarter, contributing 0.7 percentage points to the interannual variation of GDP. This data occurs after fourteen quarters of negative contributions. Net external demand for its part subtracted 0.2 points from growth, after contributing 0.4 percentage points in the fourth quarter of 2013.
Among the components of the national demand, and in inter-quarterly terms, the rate of progress of the final consumption expenditure of households moderated slightly, one tenth, to 0.4%. Gross fixed capital formation fell 0.6%, following a 0.7% increase in the last two quarters of last year. The weakening of investment in fixed capital is explained by the more contractual profile of investment in construction, which intensified its rate of decline by 3.2 points, to 3.3%. On the contrary, non-material equipment and fixed assets components grew for the fifth and third consecutive quarter, respectively, the equipment accelerating seven tenths, up to 2.4%, and intangible fixed assets, up to 3.5%, by two points. . On the other hand, the final consumption expenditure of the Public Administrations in volume increased 4.4% in the inter-quarterly rate, after decreasing 3.9% in the previous quarter.
The negative contribution of net external demand to the annual growth of GDP is explained by an increase in imports more pronounced than that of exports, with rates of 9.3% and 8.1%, respectively. These growths are 6.6 and 4.4 points higher than in the previous quarter. In inter-quarterly terms, imports grew again (1.5%), after the fall of the previous quarter (-0.6%), and exports showed a contractual behavior (-0.4%) after three quarters of progress in a row. In turn, the decline in exports was derived from the decline in exports of goods (-1.7%), partially offset by the increase in services (2.7%).
From the supply perspective, the Gross Value Added (GVA) of the services sector grew in the first quarter of the year for the fourth consecutive quarter, 0.1% quarter-on-quarter, although at a slower pace than in the previous quarter (0.4 %). The GVA of the industry recorded a negative variation of -0.5%, after the stabilization of the fourth quarter of 2013. The construction increased the intensity of the fall by more than two points, to -2.6% quarter-on-quarter. The GVA of agriculture, on the other hand, registered a positive rate of 3.2%, similar to that of the previous quarter (3.3%).
The interannual rate of job destruction, in terms of full-time equivalent jobs, moderated 1.3 points in the first quarter of the year, to -0.3%. In quarter-on-quarter terms, it grew 0.1%, as in the previous quarter, with the creation of 21,500 jobs. As a result of the evolution of GDP and employment, productivity per employee slowed down seven tenths in a year-on-year rate, to 0.8%. On the other hand, the salary per employee contracted 0.1%, after the 2.7% increase in the fourth quarter of last year, so that unit labor costs fell 0.9%, compared to the increase in 1.2% of the previous quarter.
The annual rate of the GDP deflator stood at -0.6% in the first quarter of 2014, eight tenths lower than the one recorded in the previous quarter and for the first time since mid-2012. This reduction was due both to the drop in the final consumption expenditure deflator, which decreased 0.1% after the 1.1% increase in the previous quarter, as the largest decline in the export deflator (-2.7%, half a point more than between October and December of last year). For its part, the deflator of gross fixed capital formation moderated the intensity of decline by one tenth to -2.3%, and that of imports intensified by nine tenths, to -2.7%.
In the first quarter of the year, the Spanish economy presented a need for financing against the Rest of the World of 7,057 million euros, 3,982 million euros higher than a year earlier. As a percentage of GDP, this implies an approximate financing need of 2.8%.
In short, the National Accounts data for the quarter of 2014 indicate the greatest momentum of the economic recovery, with a new acceleration of inter-quarterly GDP growth and the recording of a positive annual rate, which is consistent with the Government's forecast for the set of the year It also confirms that economic growth is generating employment, in terms of full-time equivalent positions. All this in an environment characterized by wage moderation, containment of unit labor costs and recovery of competitiveness vis-à-vis abroad, with the consequent positive impact on exports. Finally, the growth pattern is more balanced, given the relative contributions of internal and external demand.
