The sectors most benefited by the pandemic
The restrictions imposed by the public administrations in the last year to face the advance of the pandemic entail in certain commercial segments the intensification in the consumption of certain goods and services associated, for example, to the stay in the homes forced by the confinements and It causes some sectors to have avoided the collapse in demand of 9% in 2020.
Agriculture
Work in this branch has been considered essential during the pandemic, which, together with increased food consumption by the population during periods of confinement and the interruptions of certain external supply chains, have allowed agriculture and livestock to become strong. in the midst of the crisis. So much so, that this branch of activity represented 3.4% of added value (its weight in the economy), the highest figure since 2004, over 15 years. In euros, agriculture, livestock, forestry and fishing produced 35,196 million in 2020, the highest amount since there are records. In terms of employment, agriculture ended the year with 1.152 million Social Security affiliates, some 7,000 more than a year earlier.
Online trade
Spain is among the countries in which e-commerce has experienced the greatest growth this year, exceeding 20%, as stated in the eMarketer Global e-commerce 2020 report. According to the study, Amazon has positioned itself as the brand that has generated the most traffic to its Spanish commercial page, with an average increase of 252.41%. At a national level and according to Nielsen data, in 2020 online food billing has grown by 1,000 million euros, more than 80%.
Telecommunications
On this point, the exorbitant increase in the use of digital and mobile applications and audiovisual platforms is contrasted with the decrease in the general turnover of the main companies in the sector, which has been harmed by the sharp increase in the offer of this service. Without going any further, 282 companies dedicated to this field were created last year. The consensus of analysts collected by FactSet has reduced its net profit expectations of the 30 largest companies in the sector in Europe by 20% for this year. However, and despite this clear deterioration, this benefit will still be 15% higher than in 2019. The reason for this increase is due to the increased use of streaming-related applications such as Zoom and Skype, which grew by 5.938%. In addition, the consumption of TikTok rose 266%, online video games 193%, Netflix 199%, WhatsApp 147%, Twitter 15%, Facebook 8% and YouTube 2%. It should be noted that the applications with the highest data consumption are Facebook with 58.3%, YouTube 16.8%, WhatsApp 11.9%, TikTok 5.7%, Instagram 5.1%, Zoom and Skype 1.8%. . In this area, cybersecurity attracted investments for 104 million, with an increase of 108.8% compared to the previous year.
Health
The branch of public administration and defense; compulsory social security; education; health and social services activities has reached the greatest weight in GDP since there are records, exceeding 20% of gross added value in the economy, some 211,000 million euros generated in 2020. Within this branch, the employment generated by activities stands out sanitation have added 70,000 jobs (both public and private). Overall, investment in health and well-being in Spain increased by 84.3% in 2020, to exceed 100 million euros, 84.3%, according to the annual report Investment trends in Spain 2020. Health and well-being they raised 104 million euros in 2020 and the sector reached the record for activities in financing rounds, with 48 operations.
finance and insurance
Another branch that has grown in the midst of the Covid maelstrom has been financial and insurance activities, which has expanded by 2.4% during the year. Financial and insurance activities account for around 46,000 million euros and around 4.5% of GDP.
Pharmacy
Pharmaceutical spending through electronic commerce in 2020 amounted to 1,423 million euros, which maintains the upward trend of the sector in the digital landscape, according to the report La farmacia 4.0. Evolution of the online market for Consumer Health products, which forecasts an increase to 1,883 million euros by 2023.
The sectors most affected by the pandemic
Beyond the specific niches that have been able to benefit from the crisis, the general productive and corporate fabric of our country has suffered the impact of a crisis that has hit especially those branches related to tourism, a sector that represents the 13% of annual GDP.
Hostel and Tourism
The Spanish Hospitality Association estimated the fall registered by the sector in 2020 at 70,000 million euros, around 50% of its sales, and the definitive closure of 85,000 bars and restaurants. However, the drop in billing has been greater in the case of accommodation services, with 63.2% less than in the same period of 2019, compared to the 42.7% drop in food and beverage services. drink. According to the EPA for the fourth quarter of 2020, the number of unemployed in the hospitality sector amounted to 367,000 people, 35% more than in the same period of 2019. In addition to internal consumption, the restrictions to try to stop the expansion of the Viruses have also weakened foreign tourism. Between hospitality and tourism, they registered a 73% drop in employment in 2020. According to data provided by Frontur and Egatur in February, in 2020 around 19 million foreign tourists passed through the country, which contrasts with the record number of 2019, of 83 .5 million visitors.
Transport
According to Astic’s calculations, the economic impact of Covid is estimated at 64,000 million euros for all of Europe, of which 5,000 million (17%) correspond to the footprint of the pandemic in Spain for this sector. In general, the outbreaks, the new restrictions and the economic crisis resulting from the confinement have left the transport of passengers and goods at a minimum. The association’s calculations speak of the fact that the activity registers falls of 40% -50%, while that of passengers is much more aggravated, with a collapse in Europe that will exceed 80,000 million, with a 57% decrease in its income. annual, while in Spain it suffers a drop in turnover of 70%.
Industry
Another sector that has suffered a significant drop is industry (excluding construction), which has experienced a 9.4% recession, a decline that has exceeded that of the same sector in much of Europe, where industry has better resisted the hit or has even expanded. This sector has generated 166,000 million added value (GDP) in 2020, some 16,000 million less than in 2019. According to Social Security affiliation data, 60,000 jobs have been lost during the year (not counting the workers affected by Erte).
Retail commerce
Retail sales fell 6.8% in 2020, in what is its biggest decline since 2012, and broke a six-year upward streak, due to mobility restrictions caused by the Covid pandemic. After growing 2.4% last year in seasonally adjusted data, sales fell 7.1%.
Fairs and congresses
Fairs, congresses, events, meetings and incentive trips succumbed to the pandemic, which struck down any collective face-to-face activity, already with cancellations since January 2020, and virtual and hybrid formats do not allow the survival of the sector in the medium term, therefore that the bet a year later is to recover the face-to-face events with the necessary sanitary measures. In large events, Ifema will make a first trial on March 22 with the HIP-Hospitality Innovation Planet, and Fitur will be the litmus test at the end of May, while Fira de Barcelona has given up holding Alimentaria in May -the new date It is April 2022-, and the largest audiovisual fair in the world (ISE) has reformulated the June event with a multi-venue and hybrid organization spread over four countries. Likewise, the hybrid Mobile World Congress, scheduled for the end of June, is encountering the refusal of large brands to attend in person.
Construction
The case of construction has been even more serious in terms of activity, although according to the affiliation data, employment has not been destroyed in aggregate terms. Construction has suffered a recession of 15.9%, higher by a few tenths than in 2010 and 2011, at the height of the bursting of the real estate bubble in Spain. Related to construction is the branch of real estate activities, which fell by 3.1% in 2020, showing that it is more solid than the economy in general.
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