Commercial sector. Main results. By activity groups
| Sale and repair of motor vehicles | Wholesale trade and intermediaries | Retail trade | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Companies (number) | 11,201 | 38,662 | 68,763 | 118,626 |
| Establishments (number) | 13,758 | 45,565 | 86,901 | 146,224 |
| Employed persons (number) | 49,041 | 239,834 | 308,553 | 597,428 |
| Operating income | 24,080,862 | 128,663,171 | 57,861,055 | 210,605,088 |
| Turnover | 23,511,199 | 127,256,016 | 56,909,165 | 207,676,380 |
| Work done for the asset | 10,401 | 66,389 | 17,466 | 94,256 |
| Operating subsidies | 7,718 | 63,720 | 32,076 | 103,514 |
| Other operating income | 551,545 | 1,277,046 | 902,348 | 2,730,939 |
| Invent. var. prim. mat., supplies and merchandise | 125,702 | 193,017 | -15,394 | 303,325 |
| Inventory variation in products finished and in progress | 33,898 | 143,226 | 30,801 | 207,925 |
| Operating expenses | 23,459,834 | 124,788,512 | 55,068,343 | 203,316,689 |
| Consumption of goods | 17,049,003 | 92,980,606 | 39,366,807 | 149,396,416 |
| Consumption of raw materials and other supplies | 1,983,266 | 1,712,645 | 171,127 | 3,867,038 |
| Work done by other companies | 324,915 | 1,814,158 | 536,926 | 2,675,999 |
| Personnel costs | 1,881,943 | 12,312,150 | 7,289,709 | 21,483,802 |
| Wages and salaries | 1,476,066 | 9,729,973 | 5,693,006 | 16,899,045 |
| Social burdens and other personnel costs | 405,877 | 2,582,176 | 1,596,703 | 4,584,756 |
| Expenditure on external services | 1,931,609 | 13,328,176 | 6,459,064 | 21,718,849 |
| Provision for amortizations | 175,142 | 1,356,342 | 863,098 | 2,394,582 |
| Other operating expenses | 113,956 | 1,284,435 | 381,613 | 1,780,004 |
| Gross investment in tangible assets | 195,496 | 1,131,128 | 1,103,490 | 2,430,114 |
| Gross investment in intangible assets | 7,986 | 249,812 | 116,712 | 374,510 |
| Result of the financial year | 330,625 | 3,423,200 | 1,478,931 | 5,232,756 |
| Units: Thousand euros. | ||||
| Source: Idescat, based on the INE's Structural business statistics in the trade sector. | ||||
| Note: Due to methodological improvements in the calculation of the number of companies, in 2021 there is a break in time series compared to previous years. | ||||
Last update: July 8, 2026.
Methodological note
Definition of concepts
- Consumption of goods
- Number of purchases of goods (assets acquired by the company to be resold without subjecting them to a transformation process) made by the company during the reference year, less the changes in good inventories. The purchases are accounted for without including VAT and in net terms, in other words, by deducting discounts for immediate payment, sales returns and quantity discounts.
- Personnel costs
- Total amount of payments made by the company as wages and salaries, compensations, Social Security paid by the company and other social costs (long term retributions via contributory systems or defined allowances, retributions to personnel via patrimony instruments and other social expenses).
- Operating expenses
- TTotal amount obtained as a result of adding up the different expenses linked to the operations performed by the company: consumption and work performed by other companies, personnel expenses, external services and other operating expenses.
- Expenditure on external services
- Sum of all the different operating expenses incurred by the company during the reference year, including R&D expenses, leases and fees, repairs and maintenance, services of independent professionals, third-party transport, non-social insurance premiums, banking services and the like, advertising, publicity and public relations, supplies and other services.
- Company
- The smallest combination of legal units constituting an organisational unit for the production of goods or services, one having certain autonomy in terms of decision-making, principally for allocating the resources it has at its disposal.
- Operating revenue
- Total amount obtained as a result of aggregating the different revenue associated to the operation.
- Gross investment in intangible assets
- Amount of expenditure (acquisitions or own production) on research and development activities, investment in IT applications and other intangible assets, such as concessions, patents, licences, trade funds, similar rights and others. These operations are accounted for by their total value without including VAT.
- Gross investment in material assets
- Amount of the increases in value produced for different types of asset, which originate from purchases of new or used assets from third parties, from the production of one's own assets or from work done by the company or third parties on already existing elements in order to increase production capacity, performance or useful life. This is the gross investment. Until 2007, the investment was calculated as a difference between real increases in the value of capital and the sales of said resources. Investment operations are accounted for as their total value. Purchases are valued at acquisition cost, without including deductible VAT but including transport, installation costs, registration and notary costs and other non deductible taxes. Work done by the company using its resources is valued at cost price. Does not include investments in property made to obtain income or capital gains.
- Annual balance
- Total amount of the profit or loss for the year as obtained as a consequence of the company's activity.
- Changes in inventories of raw materials, other supplies and goods
- Amount corresponding to the difference between the final inventories and initial inventories of raw materials, other supplies and goods. These inventories are valued at acquisition cost.
- Changes in inventories in products finished and in progress
- Amount corresponding to the difference between the final and initial inventories of the different products (finished, semi-finished and in progress, by-products, waste and recovered materials) manufactured by the company. These inventories are valued at production cost.
- Turnover
- It includes the amounts invoiced by the company during the reference year for sales of goods and services corresponding to the company's ordinary activities. These sales are accounted for in net terms, in other words, by deducting sales discounts for immediate payment, sales returns, the value of returned packaging and quantity discounts. The taxes and duties on invoiced goods and services are included but the VAT transferred to the customer is excluded.
Methodological aspects
The main source of trade statistics is the Structural business statistics in the trade sector, called the Annual Trade Survey prior to the reference year 2014, conducted by the INE in accordance with European Union regulations, whereby the statistics for Catalonia are exploited by Idescat. General information is obtained on the evolution of commerce and three main groups or sections that it is made up of:
- sale and repair of motor vehicles and motocycles
- wholesale
- retail
This breakdown presents the tables showing the main results for macromagnitudes and employed persons. In turn, these large groups are subdivided into branches that cover all specialities of commerce. For this smaller breakdown, tables showing macromagnitudes and employed persons are also presented.
Since 2008, the Annual commerce survey has been adapted to the new National classification of economic activities (CNAE-2009). This change involves a shift in the series that prevents inter-annual comparison between most sectors and some variables.
The correspondences between the sectors used and the Catalan classification of economic activities (CCAE-2009) is as follows:
| CCAE-2009 | Groups of activities |
| 45 | Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles |
| 46 | Wholesale trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles |
| 47 | Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles |
| 49-53 | Transportation and storage |
| 55,56 | Accommodation and food service activities |
| 58-63 | Information and communication |
| 68 | Real estate activities |
| 69-75 | Professional, scientific and technical activities |
| 77-82 | Administrative and support service activities |
| 90-93 | Arts, entertainment and recreation |
| 95,96 | Other services |
Several methodological improvements were applied to the Structural Business Statistics in 2016. The results for 2016 are therefore not strictly comparable with those for previous years.
For further information about these statistics, you may check the methodology.