My husband’s hometown is Castellar del Valles, about 20 miles west of Barcelona, Spain. During our recent vacation, I had the opportunity to speak with family and friends using my very poor “survival” Spanish, as I speak no Catalan, which is their primary language.
It’s a friendly town of about 27,000 people that runs along the Ripoll River in a valley between two mountains. There are castles on the mountains, and during feudal times, they were used as guardians to the valley.
Being curious about the business climate, I began asking questions about the health of the economy. In fact, the economy and Barcelona football (soccer) are the main topics of conversations found at most bars. Bars are not like the U.S. kind – it’s more like a luncheonette or “mini” community center, a place for coffee, tapas and ice cream for the kids.
A conversation with Merce Arnau, a fiscal adviser with a degree in economics from Barcelona University, led me to believe that their economic concerns are similar to those in the United States. She is part owner of a 60-year-old family business agency, Oficina Administrativa Arnau-Germa, along with her mother, Maria Germa and sister, Rosa Arnau. The agency also has two-part time employees, Emi Gil and Eva Castillo.
There are three sectors to the business – fiscal, real estate, and insurance. The primary business of the agency is assisting businesses with taxes, filing government papers and permits – for start-up businesses and for bankruptcy. According to Arnau unemployment is about 17 percent and will probably be 20 percent by the end of the year. Spain’s gross national product declined 2.9 percent during first quarter of 2009.
“Construction is down. A lot of people are laid off,” she said. “Construction companies are taking on smaller jobs trying to keep their employees busy and to help with cash flow.”
She also said that those who are laid off are trying to start up their own businesses. She sees an increase in bars, small retail stores, consultants, beauty salons, and repair shops.
The insurance business is very slow, and the real estate part of the business is also down. She said there are the same houses on the market for the past two years and the same for apartments. Curious, I asked what sales were in the area. She said, for example, a small three-bedroom house of about 900 square-feet with a front and back patio would run about $300,000 (U.S.). Naturally prices would differ on the size and location of the property and there is real estate for sale at the $900,000 level.
