DREM releases new issue of the Quarterly Statistical Bulletin for the 1st quarter of 2024
The Regional Directorate of Statistics of Madeira (DREM) releases today a new issue of the Quarterly Statistical Bulletin (QSB) dedicated to the 1st quarter of 2024.
Starting with this edition, the QSB will include a new chapter on Sectoral Confidence Indicators, with an expanded summary table incorporating additional indicators.
Below is a summary of the main conclusions drawn from the Synthesis.
Majority of the Statistical Indicators for the 1st Quarter of 2024 show positive trends
The statistical indicators for the 1st quarter of 2024 show favourable trends for the most part.
The Regional Indicator Economic Activity (RIEA) suggests that the economic activity in the Autonomous Region of Madeira (ARM), continued to grow in the quarter, albeit at a slower pace compared to the previous period.
In the 1st quarter of 2024, the regional unemployment rate stood at 6.1%, 0.1 percentage points (pp) lower than the previous quarter and 0.3 pp lower than the same quarter of the previous year.
In the quarter under review, the average gross monthly remuneration per worker recorded a year-on-year nominal increase of 6.6% in the Region, reaching 1,375 euros, with a real increase of 3.7%.
In March 2024, the inflation rate (the 12-month average rate of change recorded by the Consumer Price Index - CPI) was 3.6% (3.3% at the national level), down by 1.4 pp from the previous December (5.0%). The year-on-year change was 2.4%, 0.9 pp lower than in December 2023.
Monetary data, produced by the Bank of Portugal and disseminated by DREM, show that the ratio of non-performing loans of non-financial companies stood at 1.1% in March 2024, the same value as in the previous December, but 1.1 pp lower compared to March 2023. In the households and NPISH (Non-Profit Institutions Serving Households) sector, this ratio was 0.8%, unchanged from the previous quarter.
According to SIBS data, in the quarter under review, withdrawals combined with purchases through automatic payment terminals saw year-on-year increases of 7.0%, 6.4%, and 9.0% in total, for domestic cards, and international cards, respectively.
In the referenced quarter, the balance between companies incorporated and dissolved in the ARM was positive (+246 companies), as the number of companies incorporated with headquarters in the ARM (423) exceeded the number of dissolutions (177).
In the agricultural sector, banana sales in the 1st quarter of 2024 rose compared to the same quarter of the previous year (+19.6%), as did the value of fish landed, which saw a year-on-year increase of 8.5%, mainly due to the positive performance of black scabbardfish (+26.7%). Conversely, egg production (-9.6%), chicken slaughter (-0.1%), and livestock slaughter (-4.2%) experienced year-on-year declines.
In the energy sector, electricity distribution increased by 2.7% in the 1st quarter of 2024 compared to the same period last year.
In construction, cement sales (first sale) decreased by 3.1% in the 1st quarter of 2024 compared to the same quarter last year. Conversely, the number of licensed buildings increased by 21.7% year-on-year. The number of housing transactions observed quarterly and year-on-year reductions of 4.5% and 22.5%, respectively. In value, this indicator rose by 4.3% compared to the previous quarter but decreased by 17.7% year-on-year. The value of bank appraisals of housing decreased by 0.1% compared to the previous month but increased by 17.5% year-on-year.
In contrast, the "Madeira" wine sales in the 1st quarter of 2024 saw a negative year-on-year change of 9.9% in value, despite the quantity increasing by 10.3%.
In the referenced quarter, passenger movement at the ARM airports increased by 2.1% year-on-year, in line with overnight stays and total revenues in tourist accommodations, which rose by 5.7% and 10.8% compared to the same quarter of the previous year, respectively. In maritime transport, the movement of goods in the ARM ports decreased by 1.6% in the 1st quarter of 2024 compared to the same quarter of the previous year.
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