• The increase in activity is the highest since the second quarter of 2008 and widens the differential with the euro zone
  • Domestic demand contributes 2.5 points, three tenths more, while external demand remains at -0.9 points
  • Employment increases for the third consecutive quarter and 221,000 jobs are created in the last year

The Spanish economy grew 0.5% in the third quarter of the year compared to the second and thus accumulates five quarters in positive, as published by the National Institute of Statistics (INE). In year-on-year terms, GDP accelerates three tenths, to 1.6%, which represents the highest annual rate since the second quarter of 2008, in addition to expanding the differential with the euro zone. The acceleration of the GDP in annual rate is explained by the greater contribution of national demand (2.5 percentage points, three tenths more than in the second quarter), while that of external demand remained (-0.9 points). These data are prepared in accordance with the new European System of National and Regional Accounts (SEC-2010), which replaces the previous SEC-1995 applied so far in the countries of the European Union.

Among the components of national demand, and in inter-quarterly terms, the pace of progress in final household consumption expenditure moderated one tenth to 0.8%. Gross fixed capital formation was less dynamic, scoring a 1% rate, seven tenths lower than the previous quarter. The slowdown in fixed capital investment is explained by the less expansive profile of both investment in equipment and investment in construction (increases of 1.7% and 0.6%, respectively in the third quarter, compared to 3 , 8% and 0.8% in the second, on the contrary, the component of intellectual property products accelerated seven tenths in the third quarter, to record a quarterly rate of 0.9%. final consumption expenditure of the Public Administrations in volume grew 0.1% with respect to the previous quarter, after the decrease of the same magnitude of the April-June period.

The negative contribution of net external demand to the annual growth of GDP is explained by an increase in imports more pronounced than in exports, with rates of 8.2% and 4.6%, respectively, higher by 3.4 and 3.1 points to the previous quarter. In inter-quarterly terms, imports grew 4.7% and exports 3.5%, rates higher by more than two points than in the second quarter.

From the perspective of the offer, the VAB of the services sector accelerated one tenth in the third quarter of the year, registering a quarterly increase of 0.6%. That of the industry registered a zero variation, after the advance of the previous two quarters (0.5% in the second quarter) and that of construction moderated its rate of increase by four tenths, to 0.1% quarter-on-quarter. The GVA of agriculture rebounded, up to 4.4%, compared to the 3% fall of the previous quarter.

The year-on-year rate of job creation, in terms of full-time equivalent jobs, increased 0.6 points in the third quarter of the year, to 1.4%, with the creation of 221,000 jobs. In inter-quarter terms, employment increased for the third consecutive quarter, registering a rate of 0.5%, which meant the net creation of 75,400 full-time equivalent jobs. As a result of the evolution of GDP and employment, productivity per employee slowed down two tenths in the interannual rate, to 0.3%. On the other hand, the salary per employee contracted 0.1%, after the 0.4% increase in the second quarter, so that unit labor costs decreased 0.4%, three tenths more than in the quarter previous.



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