The ifo Business Survey in the Service Sector

When the ifo Institute first launched the ifo Business Survey in 1949, only companies from the manufacturing industry were surveyed. In the following years, the survey was extended to the retail and wholesale sector as well as to the construction industry. At the time, surveying these sectors was sufficient to trace the business cycle and the development of the German economy. However, with the service sector still missing, the largest part of the German economy was not covered. By around 2000, the gross value-added share of the service sector (excluding wholesale and retail trade) in Germany had risen to almost 60%. This growth meant that information about the entire sector and its various sub-sectors also became more important.