Por Redaccion 
Retail sales in the region of Murcia increased by 4.4% in January, the highest rate among all autonomous communities, as reported by the National Statistics Institute (NE) on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, employment in retail trade in the autonomous community saw a 0.3% increase, lower than the national average (+1.4%), although it experienced a 1.6% decrease on a monthly basis.
Overall, retail sales grew by 2.2% year-on-year in the first month of the year, marking a 1.4 point decrease from the previous month.
Despite this more moderate internal performance compared to December, retail chain sales have seen seven consecutive months of growth.
Within the retail sector, food sales increased by 3.7% annually, while sales of other products rose by 1.7% compared to January 2024, with increases of 5.5%, 2.5%, and 1.1% in household goods, personal equipment, and healthcare, respectively.
Additionally, sales at gas stations increased by 1.1% in the first month of the year compared to the same month last year.
In terms of distribution channels, internal sales promotions were recorded across all categories except for e-commerce, which saw a 2.8% decrease. Sales saw the most significant growth in large chains (+5.2%) and large areas (+3.6%), with more moderate increases in small chains (+0.9%) and standalone businesses (+0.6%).
Adjusting for seasonal and calendar effects, retail sales also increased by 2.2% in January compared to the same month in 2024, moderating the 1.8 point increase seen in the previous month (+4%). With the progress in January, 26 consecutive months of positive growth have been recorded in the retail series.
The largest monthly decrease in sales in a year
On a monthly basis (January 2024 compared to December 2024) and adjusting for seasonal and calendar effects, retail sales saw a 1.4% decrease, marking the highest monthly decline since December 2023 (-1.6%).
Within the adjusted series, all distribution channels experienced monthly declines in sales, except for large chains, which remained unchanged. The largest decrease in sales was observed in large areas, with a 1.7% reduction compared to December.
In January, and in the adjusted series, food sales decreased by 0.1%; other products by 2%, and gas station sales by 0.4%.
Employment sees a growth rate of 1.4%
As for employment, retail trade saw a 1.4% increase in occupation in January compared to the same month of the previous year, with four tenths lower than in December. With the January figures, employment in retail trade has now seen 41 consecutive months of growth.
Across distribution channels, the largest year-on-year growth in January was observed in large chains (+2.6%) and standalone businesses (+1.2%).
On a monthly basis, employment in the retail sector declined by 1.7%, highlighting the decrease in large areas which reduced staff by 6% compared to the previous month following the holiday season.
Sales grow in all communities
In January, retail sales increased in all autonomous communities, particularly in the region of Murcia (+4.4%), Castilla-La Mancha, and Andalucía (both with +3.9%).
Regarding employment, almost all communities showed year-on-year growth in January, especially the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands, with increases of 4% and 2.6%, respectively.
Only Asturias and Extremadura saw a decrease in workforce compared to January 2024, with reductions of 0.5% and 0.1%, respectively.