The business services sector has contributed significantly to GDP growth across OECD countries in recent decades, driven in large part by an increase in firms providing intermediate services to other firms, also in the manufacturing sector. This process of outsourcing activities previously conducted in-house has increased efficiencies, and hence, labour productivity, of both outsourcing firms and specialised intermediary firms. Over the long term, this may produce a structural shift towards intermediate services industries and a direct positive contribution of high productivity business services to productivity growth of the total economy.