In this monthly summary of the state of the Spanish and international company, we talk about the labor cost in Spain, international trade in services, the state of hotel overnight stays in Spain, where is the German PMI and the industrial production of China , in addition to what are the prices of raw materials.

1. 0
10
20
30
40
50
Feb-19 Aug-19 Feb-20 Aug-20 Feb-21
Million
Total
Residents in Spain
Non-residents
5
10
15
20
4Q 2014 4Q 2015 4Q 2016 4Q 2017 4Q 2018 4Q 2019 4Q 2020
Exports Imports
-10
-8
-6
-4
-2
0
2
4
6
2Q 2017 4Q 2017 2Q 2018 4Q 2018 2Q 2019 4Q 2019 2Q 2020 4Q 2020
Salary costs Other costs
Labor costs, Spain
In Q4 2020, labor costs per worker and
month fell -0.1% year-on-year to
€2,752.26, a slight decrease against the
8.3% of Q2 2020.
By components, salary costs fell 0.7%
year-on-year to €2,061.30. “Other costs”
grew 1.7%, as a result of the increases in
Social Security contributions (1.4%
year-on-year to €634.57) and non-wage
payments (3.2% to €72.76). By contrast,
subsidies and allowances fell 2.2%
year-on-year to €16.38.
By sectors, salary costs only increased in
construction (+1.5% year-on-year). In
industry, they fell 1%, although other
costs grew 3.2%, due to the increase in
severance payments. In services, salary
costs fell 0.8%, while other costs
increased 1.4%, mainly due to social
security contribution increases.
Internationalservicestrade
In Q4 2020, services exports fell 8%
year-on-year to €19.2 billion, and
imports decreased 5% to €13.4 billion. The
balance was €5.8 billion, 14.1% lower in
year-on-year terms.
By type of service, the sectors that
contributed most to the fall in exports
were telecommunications, with a
year-on-year decrease of 24.2% (to €2.8
billion) and transport with -6% (€4.7
billion). By contrast, exports of financial
services, and insurance and pensions
increased 7.5% and 4.6%, respectively.
Overnighthotelstays,Spain
In February 2021, overnight hotel stays fell
86% year-on-year to 2.3 million (with
figures similar to December 2020 and
January 2021). This decrease represents 12
consecutive months of losses in the sector.
By country of origin, overnight traveler
stays by residents in Spain, 72.9% of the
total in February, fell 75.2% year-on-year,
while those of non-residentsfell 93.9%.
Business…
at a glance March 2021
Source: Círculo de Empresarios based on INE, 2021.
Source: Círculo de Empresarios based on INE, 2021.
Overnight hotel stays, Spain
Millions of overnight stays
Source: Círculo de Empresarios based on INE, 2021.
International services trade, Spain
Billions €
Labor costs (ETCL), Spain
Annual (%) change

2. ‘Economy at a glance’, a publication of the Círculo de Empresarios produced by its Department of the Economy, contains information and opinion from reliable sources. However,
the Círculo de Empresarios does not guarantee its accuracy and does not take responsibility for any errors or omissions. This document is merely informative. As a result, the Círculo
de Empresarios is not responsible for any uses that may be made of the publication. The opinions and estimates of the Department can be modified without prior warning.
www.circulodeempresarios.org
-20
-10
0
10
20
30
40
Nov-14
Apr-15
Sep-15
Feb-16
Jul-16
Dec-16
May-17
Oct-17
Mar-18
Aug-18
Jan-19
Jun-19
Nov-19
Apr-20
Sep-20
Feb-21
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Mar-18
May-18
Jul-18
Sep-18
Nov-18
Jan-19
Mar-19
May-19
Jul-19
Sep-19
Nov-19
Jan-20
Mar-20
May-20
Jul-20
Sep-20
Nov-20
Jan-21
Mar-21
Services sector PMI
Manufacturing PMI
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
1961
1966
1971
1976
1981
1986
1991
1996
2001
2006
2011
2016
2021
Nominal Real
PMI, Germany
In March 2021, Germany’s PMI
registered a substantial upturn in
business activity, marking a Q1
evolution that is better than initially
expected. The manufacturing PMI rose
5.8 points compared to February to 66.6
points, the highest level since recording
began. The services sector PMI rose to
50.8 points (compared to 45.7 in
February), its highest level in seven
months.
Industrial production, China
In January and February 2021, China’s
industrial production grew 35.1%
year-on-year, 5.1pp higher than initially
forecast by analysts. This development
can be mostly explained by the increase
in external demand and because
movement restrictions imposed during
the Chinese New Year brought about by
Covid-19 flare-ups allowed the pace of
manufacturing to continue for longer
than usual during this period. By
comparison, in the same period of 2020,
production fell 13.5% as a result of
pandemic.
By goods type, increases in production
centered on the manufacturing sector
(+39.5%), followed by energy supply,
heating and water (+19.8%), and mining
(+17.5%).
Raw materials prices
Global economic recovery and with it
the increase in demand and the supply
side decoupling as a result of economic
hibernation could generate an upward
“super cycle” in the prices of raw
materials, according to some analysts. In
this context, a prolonged upturn in
prices could affect the future of global
economic recovery, hampering company
operating margins.
The price of copper is at the maximum
levels of 2011, and cereals and other key
crops have reached their highest level
since 2014, according to the United
Nations index.
At the same time, the price of a barrel of
Brent, the international reference price
in energy markets, has increased 82%
since the end of October, although the
International Energy Agency has
forecast that world demand for crude
will not reach levels prior to the
pandemic until 2023.
Source: Círculo de Empresarios based on the National Bureau Statistics, 2021.
Source: Círculo de Empresarios based on Bloomberg and United Nations, 2021.
Industrial production index, China
Year-on-year (%) change
Food Prices Index (FAO)
2014-2016 index =100
PMI, Germany
Points
Source: Círculo de Empresarios based on Markit, 2021.