The Catalan economy grew 3.5% in 2016 thanks to dynamic industrial performance

The Catalan economy grew 3,5% in 2016, one tenth more than in 2015 thanks to industry’s dynamic performance, showing a growth rate of 5.2%. This annual economic growth is in line with recent years, quite above the European Union average (1,9%) and the Spanish average (3,2%).

In sectorial terms, growth in the Catalan industrial sector is the highest since 2000, excluding the 2010 figures. Average growth in the industrial sector is 2.5 percentage points more than in 2015, higher than service sector growth, which has increased 2.9% but with a deceleration of 0.7 percentage points in 2016. The sectorial clusters where the industrial production shows a positive annual performance are textiles, clothing, leather and footwear, machinery and mechanical equipment, water and pharmaceutical products.

Employment shows a good rate of growth even though the indicators relative to the progress of the activities of this market sector detect a slowdown.

In terms of tourism, the volume of foreign tourists has increased 4% during 2016. However, hotel overnight stays grew to 6,9%, far higher than the previous year. Local Catalan tourism and that proceeding from the rest of the Spanish state has also been more dynamic, with a growth in overnight hotel stays of 5.6%