Overview Of Recent Sectoral Trends
New data released by Eurostat showed seasonally adjusted services production declining by 0.3% in both the euro area and the wider European Union during February. The decline followed stronger performance in January, when services production increased 1.0% in the euro area and 0.4% across the EU. Despite the monthly slowdown, annual figures remained positive, with services production rising 1.4% year-on-year in the euro area and 1.3% across the EU.
Sector-Specific Performance
Within the euro area, transportation and storage activities recorded a modest monthly increase of 0.2%, while accommodation and food services declined 0.6% and real estate activities fell 0.4%. Information and communication services experienced the sharpest monthly contraction, dropping 2.0%. At the same time, professional, scientific and technical activities increased 0.5%, while administrative and support services remained broadly stable.
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A similar trend emerged across the EU, although transportation and storage services declined 0.3%. Meanwhile, professional and scientific activities recorded a stronger monthly growth of 1.0%, while administrative and support services posted a slight increase of 0.1%.
Member State Dynamics
Performance varied significantly between member states during the month. Estonia recorded the steepest monthly decline at 16.3%, followed by Luxembourg at 9.5% and Denmark at 3.0%. By contrast, Bulgaria posted the strongest monthly increase at 4.6%, while Hungary and Poland recorded gains of 3.7% and 1.4% respectively.
Year-On-Year Performance And Sectoral Leadership
From an annual perspective, information and communication services remained one of the strongest-performing sectors, increasing 4.0% in the euro area. Professional, scientific and technical activities also recorded solid annual growth, rising 2.3% in the euro area and 3.0% across the EU. Accommodation and food services remained the only major sector to post an annual decline, falling 0.8% in the euro area. At the national level, Hungary led annual growth with an increase of 7.6%, while Bulgaria and Slovenia each recorded growth of 6.3%. Meanwhile, Romania experienced the steepest annual contraction at 5.3%, with Denmark and Lithuania also reporting declines compared with the previous year.
