The fishery sector sailed in safe waters despite the crisis in 2009, achieving an impressive 10.8 percent growth over the previous year. One of the engines of the economy, the agricultural sector, enjoyed 3.3 percent growth in 2009 over 2008 while the hotel sector saw 3.9 percent growth, triggered by growth in tourism last year. The real estate and health sectors were buoyed by growth of 4.5 and 3.2 percent, respectively, in the given period.
When looking at the final quarter of 2009, all sectors grew except for the construction sector and social services. The construction sector continued its discouraging performance in the final three months with a 6.6 percent contraction over the same months of 2008 while the social services sector fell 0.4 percent in this period.
The highest growth in the fourth quarter was again in the fishery sector at 13.1 percent. The growth in agriculture was 1.5 percent. It was 3.5 percent in mining, 12.8 percent in the manufacturing sector, 1.5 percent in electricity, gas and water generation and distribution, 10.3 percent in wholesale and retail trade, 5.5 percent in hotels, 3.6 percent in transportation and communication and 10 percent in real estate.
