Services production rises by 2.2% in the EU in August

Seasonally-adjusted services production rose by 2.2% in the European Union in August 2024, compared to the same period last year, new data has shown.

According to the Eurostat data, services production rose by 2.0% in the euro area in August on a year-on-year basis.

On a segment-by-segment basis, services production increased for transportation and storage by 2.7%; for accommodation and food services by 0.5%; for real estate activities by 1.2%; for professional, scientific, and technical activities by 1.1%; and for administrative and support services by 0.4%.

The biggest increase on a year-on-year basis was in information and communication, where production rose by 5.4%.

Highest annual increase

Luxembourg saw the highest annual increase in services production in the EU on an annual basis, rising by 11.9%, while Denmark (+10.9%) and Malta (+9.4% also made good gains.

At the same time, Greece (-6.8%), Hungary and Romania (both -5.1%), and Austria (-4.7%) all saw services production decline on a year-on-year basis.

Month-on-month data

On a month-on-month basis, seasonally adjusted services production in the euro area and the EU grew by 0.4% in August 2024 compared with July, when services production saw increases of 1.1% in the euro area and 1.3% in the EU.

Transportation and storage rose by 0.3% in August, compared to July, accommodation and food services grew by 0.4%, information and communication increased by 1.2%, real estate activities declined by 0.3%, professional and technical activities fell by 0.9%, and administrative and support services decreased by 0.9%.

Denmark and France had the highest monthly increases in services production at 2.4%, followed by Bulgaria at 1.6% and Romania at 1.1%. Meanwhile, Hungary, Greece, and Lithuania recorded the largest decreases at 4.3%, 2.2%, and 2.0%, respectively.

Finally, in March through to August, the euro area experienced fluctuations in total services production: after a decline of 0.3% in March, production rebounded by 1.1% in April, saw a slight decrease of 0.2% in May, fell by 1.2% in June, rose again by 1.1% in July, and grew by 0.4% in August. Read more here.