The Spanish port sector generates 250,000 jobs and 2.2% of the economy’s GDP

By Naucher

The Spanish port sector generates 250,000 jobs and 2.2% of the economy’s GDP

The economic impact of the port sector, including direct, indirect and induced effects, is estimated at 24.304 billion euros and 250,000 jobs, which represents approximately 2.2% of GDP and 1.4% of total employment in the economy, according to the ‘Study of the economic impact of ports of general interest on the whole of the Spanish economy, carried out by Puertos del Estado and presented in Madrid. The direct effect of the port sector alone is in the order of 10.742 billion euros and just over 84,000 jobs. For every euro of added value in the port sector, the economy receives an additional 2.3 euros. And for every job in the port sector, three additional jobs are generated. Likewise, the annual turnover of the port sector is estimated at around 16 billion euros, which represents 0.7% of all Spanish production.

Compared to the latest study, which covers 2008, a considerable increase in productivity and a growth in the contribution to the economy that is greater than the growth of the economy itself can be observed. In other words, ports have become more efficient and are growing faster than the average of other economic sectors: the added value of the sector grew by 15% compared to 10% globally. Among the 64 sectors into which the Spanish economy can be broken down, the port sector is ranked 40th in terms of production size, 26th in terms of gross added value, 37th in terms of employment and productivity, and is in the top 10.

The magnitude of the economic impact of the port sector increases significantly when considering what, according to the methodological proposal developed, has been called the structural dependence of the port sector. To do this, a scenario of hypothetical disappearance of ports is simulated and the replacement and adjustment costs for the rest of the economic sectors are estimated (or in other words, the benefit that the economy obtains from being able to use the infrastructure and services offered by the port sector, compared to other logistics and/or transport alternatives). In the study carried out, which includes all ports of general interest, the economic impact of the structural dependence of the port sector turns out to be in the order of 50% of the national GDP and total employment and 60% of Spanish production. That is, in a dynamic context in which all companies were forced to readjust their production due to the disappearance of all ports, half of the Spanish economy would be affected.