The impact of the COVID-19 crisis on businesses and the self-employed
Fecha: mayo 2022
Ramon Xifré
Business demographics
SEFO, Spanish and International Economic & Financial Outlook, V. 11 N.º 3 (May 2022)
In 2020, Spain created over 100,000 fewer businesses than in 2019, a reduction of close to 24% to levels not seen since the aftermath of the crisis of 2008. Business creation fell across all main forms of incorporation – public limited and limited liability companies– albeit somewhat less intensely in the case of the self-employed. However, based on the available data, the number of businesses closed also decreased, albeit much less intensely (less than 2%) in Looking at the intensity of business creation and destruction between 2019 and 2020, on the creation side, financial services, postal and courier activities and certain transport segments were more dynamic, while on the destruction side, travel agencies and retail establishments stand out. If we break down the analysis by both business activity and legal form of incorporation, the data point to a degree of business reorganisation in some activities related with construction, with the number of incorporated enterprises declining and the number of selfemployed professionals increasing. More broadly, in addition to pandemic-related factors, the figures reveal the continuation of a trend observed before the pandemic–2008 marked a shift in the most dynamic type of business format, away from limited liability companies to individuals, a trend that continued in 2020.