Bizkaia metal companies will create 1400 jobs by 2025, 2.6% more than in 2024
In addition, metallurgical companies believe that billing will grow "slightly" and order portfolios will be maintained, given that the market is constantly "cooling" and that demand levels are lower than normal.
Companies in the Bizkaia metal sector expect to end the year with the creation of 1,400 net jobs, 2.6% more than in 2024. According to estimates presented by the Federation of Metal Companies (FVEM), billing will grow "slightly" and order portfolios will be maintained. They warn that all this will occur in a context of continuous "cooling" and lower demand levels than usual.
The report, based on responses from 235 companies employing more than 17,000 people, concludes that industrial activity has improved somewhat since 2024, but without regaining the 2023 figures. According to FVEM, the recovery is "very weak and uneven," and only 16% of companies indicate better activity than expected in the first half of the year, while 30% point to worse activity.
By the second half of the year, 61 per cent of companies expect activity to exceed 75 per cent and 14.4 per cent expect activity to be below 50 per cent.
Six out of ten companies place markets at a standstill. Only 24% mention recovery and 26% see signs of improvement in markets, two points higher than in the previous semester.
In terms of billing, the sector accumulates a 2% drop from 2024. Although the number of companies that reduce their turnover has moderated their growth, the variation indicator has fallen by 1.91%, the worst since January 2022. However, a slight increase is expected in the second half of the year.
With regard to employment, 73.4 per cent of companies plan to maintain the workforce in the second half of the year, and the balance between recruitment and cuts is positive.
The report also analyses the impact of tariffs on the United States: 24% of companies say it is not affected, 30% believe it has a mild effect, 22% that it is moderate and 13% that it is' serious or very serious'.
Among the main concerns in the sector is the difficulty of finding qualified staff, with 52 per cent of companies claiming to have stopped hiring because they do not have a suitable candidate, ten points higher than the previous year.
Finally, absenteeism has been 9.48% in 2024, half a point higher than the previous year, which, according to FVEM, has resulted in a loss of 8,876,000 working hours and a cost of EUR 251.6 million. The Federation criticises the ineffectiveness of administrations in managing absenteeism.
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