Service Production 4.5 Percent Higher in January

The monthly figure of the development of service production is a first indication for the volume development of the added value of these industries. Overall, in 2024, the production of services increased by 1.8 percent.

Largest Growth in Specialized Business Services

The production of specialized business services was 7.3 percent higher in January than in January 2024. The largest increase was measured in the industrial design and styling, photography, translation, and other consultancy sector; production in this sector increased by more than 14 percent. Architects and engineers contributed significantly to this with an increase of 11.5 percent.

Information and communication also saw a relatively strong production growth of 6.2 percent. The data processing, web hosting, and related activities sector produced 14.4 percent more, and IT services more than 9 percent than in January 2024.

In transportation and storage, production grew by 2.6 percent. The sector with the largest increase was storage and services for transportation with 7.3 percent. A notable decline was visible in sea and inland shipping: over 9 percent. Hospitality was the only sector where production declined: 0.7 percent.

Moderate Growth in Service Production Over the Last Two Years

In 2022, the production of total services still grew by an average of 8 percent, while in 2023 and 2024, growth was limited to 1.2 and 1.8 percent, respectively. Compared to 2021, hospitality showed the most growth. In 2021, hospitality had much lower production due to periods of closures because of COVID-19.

New Statistics on Services

Due to new European regulations, changes have been implemented in CBS statistics from 2024 onwards regarding services (including hospitality and transport). In addition to turnover (value of goods and services delivered), figures on production (volume of added value) are now also available. Furthermore, monthly figures are published for the sectors in addition to quarterly and annual figures. Finally, the base year has been shifted from 2015 to 2021.

In addition to this new monthly news report on the production of the service sector, the existing quarterly reports on the turnover of several specific sectors, such as hospitality, business services, and transport, will also be continued.