The NRW economy is also successful in sectors closely related to industry

B2B service providers such as consultancies, engineering offices or IT and R&D service providers contribute a great deal to innovation and added value as business partners of industrial enterprises.

The strength of industry in NRW is based to a large extent on the strength of these industry-related service companies.

• 26.1% of sales generated by B2B service providers in the narrower sense in Germany come from NRW – more than from any other German state.
• NRW also heads the field in terms of employment figures: 25.0% of all persons employed in Germany in B2B services work in NRW.
• 21.2% of the companies are also based here. These figures are the result of a structural change which is also reflected in the gross value added of NRW. In 1970, 55.7% was generated in industry and only 42.3% in services; by 2019 this ratio had been more than reversed.
• In NRW, services dominate with 72.3% compared to industry with 27.1%.
• The number of persons employed in the service sector has increased by more than one million since 1970 to 7.4 million.