Total exports fall and those directed to the EU register their first negative data since October 2021
MADRID, 8 Sep. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Total sales, deflated and corrected for seasonal and calendar variations, of large companies increased by 2% in July, while the number of employees grew by 3.9% and workers’ salaries – measured as average gross performance — moderated its rise to 2.5%.
According to the statistic ‘Sales, employment and salaries in large companies’ published this Friday by the Tax Agency, the total sales of large companies increased by 2% in July, a lower rate than last month, although above than averaged in the second quarter and in the two previous months.
The reason for the lower growth compared to June was the setback experienced by exports, while domestic sales showed a noticeable improvement, according to the Tax Agency.
Specifically, domestic sales increased by 3.9% in July, almost double the figure recorded in June. Considering the different destinations, the evolution in the month was heterogeneous, given that consumer sales stabilized with an increase of 5%, very close to that of June, while investment sales accelerated to 16.3%.
Within the latter, sales related to equipment and software accentuated their intense growth to 21.3%, a percentage very similar to the average for the year, while sales in construction slowed the strong increase of the previous three months, although , with an advance of 5%, extend the positive tone for the sixth consecutive month.
On the other hand, exports returned to negative territory, as happened in May, falling 3.8% in July. This cut was, to a large extent, a consequence of the evolution of sales to the European Union, which fell by 0.9%, the first negative figure since October 2021. Sales to third countries also deepened their decline, contracting 7%.
Regarding employment, the number of recipients of income from work, a fiscal indicator of salaried employment, showed a very dynamic behavior in July (3.9%), registering the highest growth so far this year.
For its part, the average gross return (salary), although it has accumulated an increase of 4.5% over the year, in the last two months, particularly in July (2.5%), the increases have moderated compared to the first part of the year in which growth was around 4.8%.
According to the Tax Agency, the slowdown coincides with the improvement experienced in the average salary as of July 2022, a rebound that took the increases to 3.9%, remaining at those rates for the rest of the year.