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The state of alarm enacted on 14 March 2020 ushered in a general lockdown and in the suspension of all non-essential economic activities. This decision had an immediate and distressing impact on economy. However, which activities were deemed as being ‘essential’?
Since the double recession back in 2008-2013, there has been increased interest in studying the economic activities deemed as being really ‘essential’ for the sustainable running of developed societies and the well-being of citizens. New terms, such as urban ''[https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10051708/1/Schafran%20et%20al%20-%20open%20access.pdf development'' sector ] and ''[https://foundationaleconomy.com/ essential economy''], have been coined to describe the economic sectors that supply basic goods and services to households and urban areas. These so-called ‘essential activities’ account for between a third and a half of employment in developed countries, and their critical nature makes them more resistant in times of economic downturn, falling income and growing unemployment.
The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the relevance of this type of analysis. The state of alarm limited activity to a very specific set of [https://www.boe.es/boe/dias/2020/03/29/pdfs/BOE-A-2020-4166.pdf essential activities ] that included the supply of energy, water and food; the processing sector; freight transport; information and communication services; financial services; business advice; public administration; healthcare; and social services (see the chart on Companies deemed as being essential.
[[File:Spain_Companies-deemed-as-being-essential_2019_map_17790_eng.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Map: Companies deemed as being essential. 2019. Spain. [//centrodedescargas.cnig.es/CentroDescargas/busquedaRedirigida.do?ruta=PUBLICACION_CNIG_DATOS_VARIOS/aneTematico/Spain_Companies-deemed-as-being-essential_2019_map_17790_eng.pdf PDF]. [//centrodedescargas.cnig.es/CentroDescargas/busquedaRedirigida.do?ruta=PUBLICACION_CNIG_DATOS_VARIOS/aneTematico/Spain_Companies-deemed-as-being-essential_2019_map_17790_eng.zip Data].[//interactivo-atlasnacional.ign.es/index.php#c=indicator&i=c12208.c12208&t=A02&view=map8 Interactive version].]]
The map on the percentage of ''[[:File:Spain_Companies-deemed-as-being-essential_2019_map_17790_eng.jpg|Companies deemed as being essential]]'' in each municipality shows the relative importance of these economic activities, which account for 67.3% of companies and 74.1% of employed in Spain. However, this national average is widely exceeded in sparsely populated provinces, such as Lugo, Zamora, Palencia, Soria, Teruel, Huesca, Lleida, Cuenca and Almería, where companies deemed as being essential make up 75% of the business fabric. Segovia, Ávila, Salamanca and Jaén stand also above the national average with over 72% of companies considered essential. At the other end of the scale, the three Basque provinces, Alicante, Málaga, the Balearic Islands (Illes Balears), Ceuta and Melilla are to be observed, where less than 65% of companies are deemed as being essential.
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[[File:Spain_Employed-during-the-first-wave-of-the-pandemic_2019-2020_map_17784_eng.jpg|leftright|thumb|300px|Map: Employed during the first wave of the pandemic. 2019-2020. Spain. [//centrodedescargas.cnig.es/CentroDescargas/busquedaRedirigida.do?ruta=PUBLICACION_CNIG_DATOS_VARIOS/aneTematico/Spain_Employed-during-the-first-wave-of-the-pandemic_2019-2020_map_17784_eng.pdf PDF]. [//centrodedescargas.cnig.es/CentroDescargas/busquedaRedirigida.do?ruta=PUBLICACION_CNIG_DATOS_VARIOS/aneTematico/Spain_Employed-during-the-first-wave-of-the-pandemic_2019-2020_map_17784_eng.zip Data]. [//interactivo-atlasnacional.ign.es/index.php#c=indicator&i=s17784.s17784&i2=c12200.c12200&t=A02&t2=A02&view=map9 Interactive version]. ]]
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[[File:Spain_Evolution-in-the-amount-of-employed-by-economic-sector_2018-2020_statisticalgraph_17785_eng.jpg|leftright|thumb|300px|Statistical graph: Evolution in the amount of employed by economic sector. 2018-2020. Spain.]]
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[[File:Spain_Evolution-in-the-amount-of-companies-registered-in-the-Social-Security-system-by-economic-sector_2019-2020_statisticalgraph_17964_eng.jpg|leftright|thumb|300px|Statistical graph: Evolution in the amount of companies registered in the Social Security system by economic sector. 2019-2020. Spain.]]
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[[File:Spain_Companies-registered-in-the-Social-Security-System-by-economic-sector_2019-2020_map_17972_eng.jpg|left|thumb|300px|Map: Companies registered in the Social Security System by economic sector. 2019-2020. Spain. [//centrodedescargas.cnig.es/CentroDescargas/busquedaRedirigida.do?ruta=PUBLICACION_CNIG_DATOS_VARIOS/aneTematico/Spain_Companies-registered-in-the-Social-Security-System-by-economic-sector_2019-2020_map_17972_eng.pdf PDF]. [//centrodedescargas.cnig.es/CentroDescargas/busquedaRedirigida.do?ruta=PUBLICACION_CNIG_DATOS_VARIOS/aneTematico/Spain_Companies-registered-in-the-Social-Security-System-by-economic-sector_2019-2020_map_17972_eng.zip Data].[//interactivo-atlasnacional.ign.es/index.php#c=indicator&i=s17972.s17972&i2=c12402.c12402&view=map10 Interactive version].]]
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[[File:Spain_Companies-registered-in-Social-Security-System-during-the-pandemic_2020_map_17973_eng.jpg|left|thumb|300px|Map: Companies registered in Social Security System during the pandemic. 2020. Spain. [//centrodedescargas.cnig.es/CentroDescargas/busquedaRedirigida.do?ruta=PUBLICACION_CNIG_DATOS_VARIOS/aneTematico/Spain_Companies-registered-in-Social-Security-System-during-the-pandemic_2020_map_17973_eng.pdf PDF]. [//centrodedescargas.cnig.es/CentroDescargas/busquedaRedirigida.do?ruta=PUBLICACION_CNIG_DATOS_VARIOS/aneTematico/Spain_Companies-registered-in-Social-Security-System-during-the-pandemic_2020_map_17973_eng.zip Data]. [//interactivo-atlasnacional.ign.es/index.php#c=indicator&i=r_107_t.r_107_t&s=2020.09.30&t=A02&view=map10 Interactive version].]]
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[[File:Spain_Value-of-exports-during-the-first-wave-of-the-pandemic_2019-2020_map_17803_eng.jpg|left|thumb|300px|Map: Value of exports during the first wave of the pandemic. 2019-2020. Spain. [//centrodedescargas.cnig.es/CentroDescargas/busquedaRedirigida.do?ruta=PUBLICACION_CNIG_DATOS_VARIOS/aneTematico/Spain_Value-of-exports-during-the-first-wave-of-the-pandemic_2019-2020_map_17803_eng.pdf PDF]. [//centrodedescargas.cnig.es/CentroDescargas/busquedaRedirigida.do?ruta=PUBLICACION_CNIG_DATOS_VARIOS/aneTematico/Spain_Value-of-exports-during-the-first-wave-of-the-pandemic_2019-2020_map_17803_eng.zip Data]. [//interactivo-atlasnacional.ign.es/index.php#c=indicator&i=s17803.s177803&i2=c12211.c12211&t=A02&t2=A03&view=map9 Interactive version].]]
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