Revenue and employment at Spanish manufacturing firms reach pre-pandemic levels
Fecha: julio 2022
María José Moral
Manufacturing industry
SEFO, Spanish and International Economic & Financial Outlook, V. 11 N.º 4 (July 2022)
At the headline level, the Spanish manufacturing industry appears to have fully overcome the harsh effects of the pandemic, with revenue and hiring back to pre-pandemic levels. However, the new geopolitical paradigm and supply side frictions are weighing on growth once more. The situation in the transport materials sector is of particular concern, with revenue and employment still 10% and 8% below 2019 levels. Meanwhile, other sectors have fully recovered and have grown revenues and workforces above pre-pandemic levels, except for the textile and clothing and the paper, publishing, and graphic arts sectors. While revenue is back above pre-pandemic levels for these two sectors, firms have taken advantage of the pandemic to find efficiencies and downsize their labour forces. At the opposite end of the spectrum, sectors experiencing strong sales growth, such as the food, beverage and tobacco and chemicals and pharmaceuticals sectors, are generating new jobs.