Real Estate and tourism keep services afloat/ Hotels increase sales by 12.6%, real estate salaries expand 35%
The services sector has started 2026 with a positive performance, supported mainly by real estate activity and tourism. Data published by INSTAT show that in the first quarter of the year, net sales expanded in most economic activities, while employment and wages continued to increase in most sectors.
Real estate activity is again the main engine of growth, with a 31.5% expansion of net sales in volume compared to the same period a year ago. Hotels also performed strongly, with an increase of 12.6%, as well as bar-restaurants, where sales increased by 8.4%. Also growing were the activities of architecture and engineering by 8.0%, trade by 4.6% and insurance activities by 4.9%. On the other hand, transport, storage and post decreased by 3.8%, while information and communication contracted by 1.6%.
The labor market also presents a positive picture. Employment increased by 22.5% in real estate activities, by 9.4% in hotels, by 3.7% in travel agencies and by 3.6% in trade. However, some activities continue to show weakness, as employment fell by 10.5% in office administration and administrative support, and by 3.2% in security and investigation activities.
Wage growth has been even stronger. The wage bill expanded by 35% in real estate activities, by 22% in hotels and by 20.5% in travel agencies, while double-digit increases were also recorded in trade, bars and restaurants, information and communication, engineering activities and insurance. The only sector that recorded a decrease in wages was office administration and administrative support, by 6.5%.
First quarter data show that services continue to be supported by the dynamics of tourism and the expansion of activity in the real estate market, while some traditional sectors, such as transport and information and communication, are facing a slowdown in economic activity.
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