Business sector, Spain
In March, 6,767 new companies were created, the lowest figure for this month since 1995. This implied a fall of 28.3% compared to the same month last year.
The capital subscribed for their creation reached €411.7 billion, 5.9% lower than in March 2019.
By sector, most new businesses were related to trade (19% of the total number of societies set up), followed by real estate, finance and insurance companies (14.6%), and construction (12.8%).
The number of companies dissolved was 1,464, which represents a year-on-year fall of 21.1%.
The Property, Mercantile and Real Estate Registers College have advanced a contraction in the creation of companies for April of 72.1%.
Trade balance, Spain
According to Eurostat, in Q1 2020, against the backdrop of Covid-19, Spanish exports fell 4.3% year-on-year (vs. +2% in Q1 2019), reaching €71.1 billion. At the same time, imports fell 6.2% (vs +3,5% Q1 2019), reaching €79 billion.
As a result of this, the trade deficit fell 20.4% year-on-year, reaching €7.9 billion.
For its part, the Eurozone also registered a year-on-year fall of exports of 1.8% (reaching €567 billion) and 4.1% of imports (reaching €534.4 billion).
Employment, Spain
According to the Employment Risk Index created by BIS1, Spain (along with Italy, Greece and France) is one of the main European economies most at risk from the impact of Covid-19 on employment.
The precariousness of many jobs can be explained mostly as a result of the focus of productivity being in sectors such as tourism and the hospitality industry, and the smaller number of medium-sized companies.
By regional communities, Madrid, Navarra and the Basque Country showed a greater resilience with regard to the impact of Covid-19 on employment.
Automobile industry, EU
In April, the sale of cars in the EU dropped for the second consecutive month, registering a year-on-year fall of 76.3%. Car registrations decreased to 292,182, the lowest figure since reporting began in 1990.
Among the main economies in the region, Italy and Spain showed the largest year-on-year decreases, with 97.5% and 96.5%, respectively. Sales in each of these countries were barely above 4,000 units.
In France, there was a decrease of 88% (with 20,997 new registrations), and in Germany, where the impact was less pronounced, there was a fall of 66% (120,840 new registrations).
Construction industry, EU
In March, production in the EU construction industry decreased by 13.4% year-on-year, the biggest fall since February 2012.
By areas, the public works sector fell 14.9% year-on-year and building construction by 13.3%.
Among member countries, decreases in France (-41.2% year-on-year), Italy (-35.4%) and Belgium (-23.2%), stand out, while Germany remained in positive figures (+5.1%).
Industrial production, the US
In April, industrial production in the US shrank by 15% year-on-year (-11.2% monthly), the biggest drop since June 2009. This represents 8 consecutive months of year-on-year falls in production.
By type of goods, durable goods fell 44% year-on-year, hit hard by the contraction of the car industry (-70.8% year-on-year). Capital goods fell 25.9% and non-durable goods by 7.4%.