DREM publishes a new issue of the Quarterly Statistical Bulletin for the 1st quarter of 2025
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 2025. As of this quarter, the publication includes new data on bank deposits, broken down by type of client and by month.
Economic indicators show mixed trends: tourism, transport and SIBS network transactions increase, while agriculture, fisheries and employment decline
Statistical indicators for the 1st quarter of 2025 show a mixed performance: some evolved positively, such as those related to SIBS network transactions, tourism and transport, while others showed negative dynamics, including the unemployment rate and most variables linked to the agriculture and fisheries sectors.
The Regional Indicator of Economic Activity (RIEA) points to a slowdown in the growth rate of economic activity in the Autonomous Region of Madeira in the 1st quarter of 2025 compared to the previous quarter. In March 2025, the last month of the quarter under review, the Region completed a cycle of 48 consecutive months of economic growth.
In the 1st quarter of 2025, the regional unemployment rate stood at 6.7%, an increase of 0.8 percentage points (pp) compared to the same quarter of the previous year, and 1.0 pp higher than the previous quarter.
In the quarter under review, the average gross monthly earnings per employee in the Region increased by 7.3% year-on-year in nominal terms, reaching 1 474 euros. The real change was also positive, at 3.1%.
In March 2025, the inflation rate measured by the 12-month average change rate of the Consumer Price Index, in the ARM, stood at 3.7% (compared to 2.4% at the national level), which was 0.4 pp higher than the rate recorded in December 2024 (3.3%). The year-on-year change was 3.5% in March 2025 (+1.9% nationally), below the 4.0% recorded in the previous December.
The monetary data, produced by Banco de Portugal and disseminated by DREM, reveal that the non-performing loans ratio of non-financial companies was 0.8% in March 2025, +0.1 pp compared to December 2024, and -0.3 pp compared to March 2024. For households and NPISH (Non-Profit Institutions Serving Households), the ratio stood at 0.9%, the same as in December 2024, but up by 0.1 pp from the same quarter of the previous year.
According to SIBS data, in the quarter under review, the combined total of ATM withdrawals and POS transactions showed year-on-year increases of 8.5% overall, 7.5% for national cards, and 12.0% for international cards.
In the reference quarter, the balance between enterprises incorporated and dissolved in the ARM was positive (+338 enterprises), as the number of enterprises incorporated with registered headquarters in Madeira (433) exceeded the number of dissolutions (95).
In the agriculture sector, banana sales (first sales) in the 1st quarter of 2025, decreased by 5.9% compared to the same quarter of the previous year, a trend also seen in poultry meat (-15.9%) and in livestock slaughter (-1.1%). However, egg production increased by 3.1%. In the fisheries sector, the value of landed fish dropped by 33.4% year-on-year, with significant reductions in the main species: -15.8% in black scabbardfish and -90.3% in tuna and similar species.
In the energy sector, electricity distribution rose by 2.8% year-on-year in the 1st quarter of 2025.
Regarding the construction sector, the results for the 1st quarter of 2025 indicate year-on-year decreases in the sale of cement (-3.6%) and in licensed buildings (-12.4%), while the number of housing transactions increased by 28.4% (+65.3% in value).
The sale of "Madeira" wine, in the 1st quarter of 2025, fell by 7.3% in value and 18.1% in volume.
In the quarter under review, the movement of passengers at the airports of the Autonomous Region of Madeira increased by 6.7% year-on-year, in line with the growth in overnight stays and total revenue from tourist accommodation, which rose by 7.6% and 20.6%, respectively, compared to the same quarter of the previous year.
In maritime transport, the movement of goods in the ports of the Autonomous Region of Madeira grew by 2.3% in the 1st quarter of 2025 compared to the same quarter of 2024.
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