EU regions (NUTS 2) by persons employed, retail trade (Spain)
Catalonia had the highest persons employed, retail trade (Spain) of 17 regions in 2021, at 294,192. La Rioja had the lowest, at 9,082. The median was 58,643. Source: the Instituto Nacional de Estadística.
All regions, 2021
Full ranking
| Rank | Regions | 2021 | Change on 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Catalonia | 294,192 | -1% |
| 2 | Andalusia | 289,841 | +1.5% |
| 3 | Community of Madrid | 250,296 | -1.5% |
| 4 | Valencian Community | 189,781 | +0.3% |
| 5 | Galicia | 97,215 | -1.4% |
| 6 | Canary Islands | 90,857 | -6.1% |
| 7 | Castile and León | 77,561 | +0.3% |
| 8 | Basque Country | 71,343 | -7.1% |
| 9 | Castilla-La Mancha | 58,643 | +1.4% |
| 10 | Region of Murcia | 49,119 | -2.6% |
| 11 | Balearic Islands | 42,909 | -3.8% |
| 12 | Aragon | 42,545 | -3.7% |
| 13 | Asturias | 37,720 | +0.4% |
| 14 | Extremadura | 32,950 | +0.5% |
| 15 | Cantabria | 20,533 | +0.1% |
| 16 | Navarre | 20,441 | -2.3% |
| 17 | La Rioja | 9,082 | -16.8% |
Other periods
About this ranking
Persons employed (personal ocupado: paid staff plus working owners, partners and unpaid family members, full or part time) in the local units of enterprises whose main activity is retail trade (CNAE 2009 division 47), by the comunidad where each local unit is located, from the regional results of the INE structural business statistics for the trade sector (Estadística Estructural de Empresas: Sector Comercio).
Spain only: the country and the 17 comunidades autónomas from 2018, plus Ceuta and Melilla for the sector as a whole. These are INE regional results: each local unit counts where it is located, and figures are not consolidated within enterprise groups, so the Spain total is higher than the national results INE headlines (trade turnover in 2024: EUR 1,068,257 million here, 1,044,477 million in the national results). A sample survey, so small regions can move a lot from one year to the next. Published about 15 months after the reference year.
Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the regions are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.
How to cite
Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE). Estadística estructural de empresas, sector comercio: personal ocupado, comercio al por menor (CNAE 47), por comunidad autónoma (tabla 76817). https://www.ine.es/jaxiT3/Tabla.htm?t=76817. Retrieved 2026-10-12.Citation styles
APA 7
Instituto Nacional de Estadística. (2026). Estadística estructural de empresas, sector comercio: personal ocupado, comercio al por menor (CNAE 47), por comunidad autónoma (tabla 76817) (EU regions (NUTS 2) by persons employed, retail trade (Spain), 2021) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www.ine.es/jaxiT3/Tabla.htm?t=76817
MLA 9
Estadística estructural de empresas, sector comercio: personal ocupado, comercio al por menor (CNAE 47), por comunidad autónoma (tabla 76817), EU regions (NUTS 2) by persons employed, retail trade (Spain), 2021. Instituto Nacional de Estadística, 8 Apr. 2026, https://www.ine.es/jaxiT3/Tabla.htm?t=76817. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/persons-employed-retail-spain/eu-regions?period=2021. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.
Chicago (author-date)
Instituto Nacional de Estadística. 2026. Estadística estructural de empresas, sector comercio: personal ocupado, comercio al por menor (CNAE 47), por comunidad autónoma (tabla 76817). EU regions (NUTS 2) by persons employed, retail trade (Spain), 2021. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www.ine.es/jaxiT3/Tabla.htm?t=76817. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/persons-employed-retail-spain/eu-regions?period=2021.
Harvard
Instituto Nacional de Estadística (2026) Estadística estructural de empresas, sector comercio: personal ocupado, comercio al por menor (CNAE 47), por comunidad autónoma (tabla 76817), EU regions (NUTS 2) by persons employed, retail trade (Spain), 2021 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www.ine.es/jaxiT3/Tabla.htm?t=76817, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/persons-employed-retail-spain/eu-regions?period=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).
BibTeX
@misc{instituto_eu_regions_nuts_2_2021,
author = {{Instituto Nacional de Estadística}},
title = {{Estadística estructural de empresas, sector comercio: personal ocupado, comercio al por menor (CNAE 47), por comunidad autónoma (tabla 76817): EU regions (NUTS 2) by persons employed, retail trade (Spain), 2021}},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {Data set},
url = {https://www.ine.es/jaxiT3/Tabla.htm?t=76817},
urldate = {2026-10-12},
note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/persons-employed-retail-spain/eu-regions?period=2021. Publisher attribution: Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE). Estadística estructural de empresas, sector comercio: personal ocupado, comercio al por menor (CNAE 47), por comunidad autónoma (tabla 76817). https://www.ine.es/jaxiT3/Tabla.htm?t=76817. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY - DATA
AU - Instituto Nacional de Estadística
TI - Estadística estructural de empresas, sector comercio: personal ocupado, comercio al por menor (CNAE 47), por comunidad autónoma (tabla 76817): EU regions (NUTS 2) by persons employed, retail trade (Spain), 2021
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/04/08
PB - Instituto Nacional de Estadística
DB - Invokely
UR - https://www.ine.es/jaxiT3/Tabla.htm?t=76817
L2 - https://invokely.ai/rankings/persons-employed-retail-spain/eu-regions?period=2021
Y2 - 2026/10/12
N1 - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/persons-employed-retail-spain/eu-regions?period=2021.
N1 - Publisher attribution: Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE). Estadística estructural de empresas, sector comercio: personal ocupado, comercio al por menor (CNAE 47), por comunidad autónoma (tabla 76817). https://www.ine.es/jaxiT3/Tabla.htm?t=76817. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER -
Use this data in your AI agent
Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:
Rank EU regions by persons employed, retail trade (Spain) using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"trade_persons_employed_retail","level":"region","within":"European Union (27)","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=trade_persons_employed_retail&level=region&within=European%20Union%20(27)&limit=10Questions
Which region has the highest persons employed, retail trade (Spain)?
Catalonia, with 294,192 in 2021, according to the Instituto Nacional de Estadística.
Which region has the lowest persons employed, retail trade (Spain)?
La Rioja, with 9,082 in 2021.
Where does this ranking come from?
Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Estadística estructural de empresas, sector comercio: personal ocupado, comercio al por menor (CNAE 47), por comunidad autónoma (tabla 76817). Retrieved 2026-10-12.