How the Debt Crisis Has Affected Spanish Business
January 26th, 2012
According to Social Security data, since 2008, the economic crisis has put 177,336 companies out of business in Spain, most of them small- and medium-sized enterprises, and especially in Murcia and Valencia, due to their dependence on the construction sector, while larger enterprises have demonstrated their ability to survive.
This data is referred to in an article included in the January issue of the Economic Report of the business school ESADE entitled “How many companies have been taken by the crisis?”
This is the difference between the number of companies registered in the Social Security in December 2007 and the number which appeared in October 2011, reported ABC News.
While companies with three to five employees decreased by 13.7%, and those with six to nine employees fell by 17.8%, companies with between 10 and 25 employees dropped by 21.3%, those with 26 to 49 workers by 23.5%, and those with between 50 to 249 employees by 14.9%.
The article, by Professor Anna Laborda, notes that large companies (with more than 500 employees) are those that have proven to be better prepared to withstand the crisis, according to the comparison of data from the Central Companies Directory (CCD).
Large companies have shown a greater capacity for survival: those with 5,000 or more workers have increased in number between 2007 and 2011, from 99 to 107.
Murcia and Valencia Most Affected
Analysis of the data reveals that the regions where the reduction in numbers of companies is greater, are Murcia and Valencia, mainly due to their reliance on the construction sector.
In addition, with declines of over 13% are the Canary Islands, Castilla-La Mancha and Andalusia, while Catalonia and the Balearic Islands were above the average, with reductions of 12.3% and 11.8% respectively.
The Community of Madrid recorded a loss of businesses of 8.9%, which could be explained, according to the author of the study, by the fact that Madrid has the highest concentration of large companies, which are those resisting the crisis better.
The remaining regions show losses below the national average, with a particularly good performance for the north: with the Basque Country, Navarra, Galicia and Asturias, all below 7%.
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