According to the Spanish Confederation of Small and Medium Enterprises (Cepyme), throughout the year, between the first and third quarters, there have been 7,182 bankruptcies of SMEs and individuals with economic activity, which is 26% more than during the same period in 2023. Additionally, the confederation highlights that “this is the highest figure in the last 15 years for the first nine months of the year.” Of those bankruptcies, 7,064 (98% of the total) occurred in companies with fewer than 50 employees.
In the report published this Monday on the Situation of Spanish SMEs, small and medium enterprises report that labour costs have accumulated an increase of 18.1% since 2019 and warn about the situation of microenterprises, which are the most sensitive to measures affecting wages, hiring, or working hours. In addition to rising labour costs, companies report that input prices have increased by 36.7% compared to 2019 and energy prices by 68.5%. “The evolution of general costs in companies is particularly important in a scenario of declining productivity” (productivity has been declining for seven consecutive quarters).
Bankruptcies of SMEs reach 15-year high after 26% rise
