Services production down by 0.4% in the euro area and by 0.6% in the EU

Overview

In March 2024, compared with February 2024, seasonally adjusted services production decreased by 0.4% in the euro area and by 0.6% in the EU, according to first estimates from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. In February 2024, services production grew by 1.1% in the euro area and by 1.2% in the EU.

In March 2024, compared with March 2023, services production increased by 2.3% the euro area and by 1.9% in the EU.

Services production

Monthly comparison by service industry and by Member State

In the euro area in March 2024, compared with February 2024, services production

decreased for transportation and storage by 0.6%,
decreased for accommodation and food services by 1.1%,
remained stable for information and communication,
decreased for real estate activities by 0.4%,
decreased for professional, scientific, and technical activities by 1.3%,
increased for administrative and support services by 0.9%.

In the EU, services production

decreased for transportation and storage by 0.7%,
decreased for accommodation and food services by 1.1%,
decreased for information and communication by 0.2%,
decreased for real estate activities by 0.5%,
decreased for professional, scientific, and technical activities by 1.8%,
increased for administrative and support services by 0.8%.

Among Member States for which data are available, the largest monthly decreases were recorded in Hungary (-15.7%), Denmark (-4.2%) and Greece (-2.8%). The highest increases were observed in Lithuania (+3.8%), Czechia (+1.3%) and Slovenia (+0.9%).

Annual comparison by service industry and by Member State

In the euro area in March 2024, compared with March 2023, services production

decreased for transportation and storage by 0.3%,
increased for accommodation and food services by 2.6%,
increased for information and communication by 6.1%,
increased for real estate activities by 0.5%,
increased for professional, scientific, and technical activities by 1.0%,
increased for administrative and support services by 1.9%.

In the EU, services production

decreased for transportation and storage by 0.9%,
increased for accommodation and food services by 2.4%,
increased for information and communication by 5.5%,
increased for real estate activities by 0.6%,
increased for professional, scientific, and technical activities by 0.7%,
increased for administrative and support services by 1.9%.

Among Member States for which data are available, the highest annual increases were recorded in Luxembourg (+10.1%), Lithuania (+9.9%) and Malta (+9.1%). The largest decreases were observed in Hungary (-8.1%), Denmark (-7.9%) and Latvia (-4.7%).

Tables

Services production % change compared with previous month*
	Oct-23	Nov-23	Dec-23	Jan-24	Feb-24	Mar-24
Euro area
Total services	0.2	-0.1	0.4	0.4	1.1	-0.4
Transportation and storage	0.2	0.1	1.1	-0.8	1.2	-0.6
Accommodation and food services	-0.9	-0.1	0.9	0.1	1.3	-1.1
Information and communication	0.2	-0.2	1.6	0.3	1.1	0.0
Real estate activities	0.4	-1.2	-2.0	2.5	0.6	-0.4
Professional, scientific and technical activities	0.8	-0.2	-0.7	1.3	0.6	-1.3
Administrative and support services	0.9	-1.5	0.9	-0.2	0.5	0.9
EU
Total services	0.3	-0.1	0.5	-0.2	1.2	-0.6
Transportation and storage	0.5	0.0	0.7	-2.2	1.0	-0.7
Accommodation and food services	-0.9	0.1	1.0	-0.1	1.3	-1.1
Information and communication	0.3	-0.3	1.5	0.3	1.3	-0.2
Real estate activities	0.5	-0.9	-1.3	2.3	0.1	-0.5
Professional, scientific and technical activities	0.7	-0.1	-0.8	1.2	1.0	-1.8
Administrative and support services	0.8	-1.3	0.9	-0.3	0.6	0.8
* Calendar and seasonally adjusted Source dataset: sts_sepr_m

Services production % change compared with previous month*
	Oct-23	Nov-23	Dec-23	Jan-24	Feb-24	Mar-24
Euro area	0.2	-0.1	0.4	0.4	1.1	-0.4
EU	0.3	-0.1	0.5	-0.2	1.2	-0.6
Belgium	-0.8	2.4	-0.1	0.8	2.6	-0.3
Bulgaria	0.4	0.6	0.5	1.1	-0.1	0.0
Czechia	0.4	0.5	0.6	0.6	-0.7	1.3
Denmark	4.4	-0.6	-1.7	-10.3	-0.1	-4.2
Germany	-0.4	0.1	-1.0	1.0	2.3	0.0
Estonia	0.3	-0.9	1.1	-1.4	1.3	-1.2
Ireland	c	c	c	c	c	c
Greece	3.8	-0.8	-3.1	2.3	3.1	-2.8
Spain	2.0	1.7	0.3	0.5	1.9	-2.1
France	-0.3	-0.9	2.7	-0.5	-0.7	-0.9
Croatia	-2.2	-1.9	1.2	-3.7	-2.1	-1.5
Italy	0.9	-0.1	-0.9	1.8	0.3	-1.4
Cyprus	c	c	c	c	c	c
Latvia	-2.3	1.9	2.1	-2.8	0.1	-1.1
Lithuania	-0.7	0.0	0.5	5.0	-1.8	3.8
Luxembourg	6.7	-0.1	4.2	-5.5	-0.4	0.0
Hungary	-0.6	-0.8	-0.1	-0.4	16.1	-15.7
Malta	-0.5	0.9	0.7	-0.1	2.6	0.0
Netherlands	c	c	c	c	c	c
Austria	0.5	-1.0	0.4	0.1	0.5	-1.9
Poland	1.1	1.2	-0.8	1.3	2.5	-1.9
Portugal	:	:	:	:	:	:
Romania	0.8	0.3	3.0	-5.5	-1.6	0.8
Slovenia	-2.2	2.9	2.6	0.2	-2.4	0.9
Slovakia	-0.1	-1.2	0.0	1.8	0.5	-0.8
Finland	-0.6	0.0	0.4	0.5	0.4	0.4
Sweden	c	c	c	c	c	:
* Calendar and seasonally adjusted : Data not available c Confidential Source dataset: sts_sepr_m

Services production % change compared with same month of the previous year*
	Oct-23	Nov-23	Dec-23	Jan-24	Feb-24	Mar-24
Euro area
Total services	1.9	1.3	1.9	3.4	4.6	2.3
Transportation and storage	-1.5	-1.1	-0.6	-0.2	2.4	-0.3
Accommodation and food services	0.1	0.4	1.4	1.4	4.3	2.6
Information and communication	4.8	4.8	5.6	6.5	7.8	6.1
Real estate activities	2.8	1.0	-3.4	1.9	2.5	0.5
Professional, scientific and technical activities	1.7	1.8	1.9	3.0	5.2	1.0
Administrative and support services	3.0	-0.8	1.6	3.4	3.1	1.9
EU
Total services	1.7	1.4	1.9	3.1	4.5	1.9
Transportation and storage	-0.4	0.4	0.5	-0.5	2.3	-0.9
Accommodation and food services	0.1	0.3	1.4	1.3	4.1	2.4
Information and communication	4.2	4.2	4.9	6.0	7.7	5.5
Real estate activities	2.5	0.8	-2.0	2.7	2.9	0.6
Professional, scientific and technical activities	1.4	1.7	1.5	2.7	5.6	0.7
Administrative and support services	2.6	-0.9	1.5	3.0	3.1	1.9
* Calendar adjusted Source dataset: sts_sepr_m

Services production % change compared with same month of the previous year*
	Oct-23	Nov-23	Dec-23	Jan-24	Feb-24	Mar-24
Euro area	1.9	1.3	1.9	3.4	4.6	2.3
EU	1.7	1.4	1.9	3.1	4.5	1.9
Belgium	-1.6	2.1	0.8	2.2	5.5	4.3
Bulgaria	-1.8	-1.5	0.7	4.2	3.6	3.1
Czechia	-4.2	-3.7	-1.7	-0.7	-1.4	2.2
Denmark	9.8	12.2	7.2	-1.1	7.3	-7.9
Germany	-0.3	0.3	0.5	1.9	3.9	2.9
Estonia	-0.8	-3.8	1.1	-3.6	3.0	-1.8
Ireland	c	c	c	c	c	c
Greece	9.7	4.6	0.7	5.3	13.2	:
Spain	4.2	2.9	1.7	5.5	6.4	1.4
France	1.1	0.6	3.1	3.2	2.4	0.2
Croatia	1.3	1.2	3.4	0.7	-2.4	-4.0
Italy	3.0	2.6	-2.2	4.3	6.1	-1.5
Cyprus	c	c	c	c	c	c
Latvia	-2.4	-3.3	1.4	-1.6	-2.4	-4.7
Lithuania	5.6	4.4	3.1	16.2	12.7	9.9
Luxembourg	15.5	14.6	13.9	11.4	12.7	10.1
Hungary	-8.6	-8.5	-4.6	-2.6	11.0	-8.1
Malta	1.9	2.4	2.6	0.3	12.2	9.1
Netherlands	c	c	c	c	c	c
Austria	-1.7	-3.3	-3.4	-2.6	-1.7	-3.7
Poland	2.8	4.5	1.9	6.7	9.4	5.1
Portugal	:	:	:	:	:	:
Romania	5.1	4.5	9.9	1.7	-2.4	-1.4
Slovenia	-0.5	3.6	6.5	5.1	0.8	0.1
Slovakia	-6.8	-10.9	-9.9	-5.0	-4.1	0.9
Finland	-2.3	-2.4	-2.5	-2.4	-0.8	-0.4
Sweden	c	c	c	c	c	:
* Calendar adjusted : Data not available c Confidential Source dataset: sts_sepr_m

Services production, calendar and seasonally adjusted indices (base year 2021)
	Oct-23	Nov-23	Dec-23	Jan-24	Feb-24	Mar-24
Euro area	113.8	113.7	114.2	114.6	115.9	115.4
EU	114.1	114.0	114.6	114.4	115.8	115.1
Belgium	110.4	113.1	113.0	113.9	116.9	116.6
Bulgaria	111.2	111.9	112.5	113.7	113.6	113.6
Czechia	103.4	103.9	104.5	105.1	104.4	105.8
Denmark	122.7	122.0	119.9	107.5	107.4	102.9
Germany	111.0	111.1	110.0	111.1	113.6	113.6
Estonia	116.4	115.3	116.6	115.0	116.5	115.1
Ireland	c	c	c	c	c	c
Greece	131.8	130.7	126.6	129.5	133.5	129.7
Spain	114.9	116.8	117.2	117.8	120.0	117.5
France	114.3	113.3	116.4	115.8	115.0	114.0
Croatia	116.8	114.6	116.0	111.7	109.3	107.7
Italy	113.8	113.7	112.7	114.7	115.0	113.4
Cyprus	c	c	c	c	c	c
Latvia	112.4	114.5	116.9	113.6	113.7	112.4
Lithuania	108.5	108.5	109.0	114.5	112.4	116.7
Luxembourg	115.4	115.3	120.1	113.5	113.1	113.1
Hungary	107.4	106.5	106.4	106.0	123.1	103.8
Malta	124.7	125.8	126.7	126.6	129.9	129.9
Netherlands	c	c	c	c	c	c
Austria	109.5	108.4	108.8	108.9	109.4	107.3
Poland	118.4	119.8	118.9	120.5	123.5	121.1
Portugal	:	:	:	:	:	:
Romania	137.8	138.2	142.3	134.5	132.3	133.3
Slovenia	112.7	116.0	119.0	119.2	116.3	117.4
Slovakia	96.9	95.7	95.7	97.4	97.9	97.1
Finland	106.4	106.4	106.8	107.3	107.7	108.1
Sweden	c	c	c	c	c	:
: Data not available c Confidential Source dataset: sts_sepr_m

Services production, calendar adjusted indices (base year 2021)
	Oct-23	Nov-23	Dec-23	Jan-24	Feb-24	Mar-24
Euro area	116.6	113.4	133.4	107.9	103.3	115.7
EU	117.1	114.2	133.5	107.6	103.5	115.6
Belgium	115.1	112.9	134.3	106.8	105.3	121.9
Bulgaria	110.0	111.3	128.6	100.1	104.4	114.9
Czechia	105.1	106.8	121.3	96.7	93.2	111.4
Denmark	129.2	122.8	137.2	108.4	96.0	101.0
Germany	112.3	114.0	133.0	99.0	100.3	114.8
Estonia	116.8	112.8	140.9	101.2	105.7	118.3
Ireland	c	c	c	c	c	c
Greece	136.9	114.9	147.8	90.7	100.2	:
Spain	118.8	115.5	124.9	107.1	106.6	114.9
France	117.5	109.1	141.4	117.9	103.5	114.2
Croatia	105.9	94.6	124.5	86.6	84.6	91.8
Italy	118.3	112.1	124.0	114.0	100.4	111.1
Cyprus	c	c	c	c	c	c
Latvia	114.9	114.1	134.3	103.1	104.1	111.6
Lithuania	114.0	109.0	113.4	106.0	105.3	118.1
Luxembourg	117.1	121.1	145.3	111.1	101.5	113.8
Hungary	112.2	117.6	143.2	93.6	96.8	99.6
Malta	129.0	123.7	121.7	120.0	122.9	134.8
Netherlands	c	c	c	c	c	c
Austria	109.2	104.6	128.1	110.5	107.5	110.8
Poland	120.0	122.6	132.2	109.3	114.9	124.9
Portugal	:	:	:	:	:	:
Romania	142.4	139.0	155.8	118.9	116.3	130.4
Slovenia	116.3	118.3	132.2	107.2	103.4	119.8
Slovakia	101.5	99.4	108.9	88.5	87.3	99.3
Finland	109.0	107.2	130.2	99.6	97.2	109.1
Sweden	c	c	c	c	c	:
: Data not available c Confidential Source dataset: sts_sepr_m

Notes for users

Revisions and timetable

Compared with data issued in the News Release of 8 May 2024, the monthly percentage change for February 2024 has been revised from +1.0% to +1.1% in the euro area and from +1.1% to +1.2% in the EU. The annual percentage change has been revised from +4.9% to +4.6% in the euro area and from +4.8% to +4.5% in the EU.

Methods and definitions

The index of services production is a business indicator that measures the monthly changes in the production volume of the services industries (excluding financial and public services).

Seasonally adjusted euro area and EU series are calculated by aggregating the seasonally adjusted national data.

In this release, total services cover NACE Rev.2 sections H to N, excluding K. Missing observations from Member States for recent months are estimated for the calculation of the euro area and the EU aggregates.

Geographical information

The euro area (EA20) includes Belgium, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia and Finland.

The European Union (EU27) includes Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechia, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland and Sweden.