Osnabrueck is home to numerous small and mid-sized companies. Its excellent balance of industrial and commercial branches ensures healthy development over the long term.

The traditional core competencies of Osnabrueck's industry are concentrated in automotive vehicle manufacturing and design (as represented by Wilhelm Karmann GmbH, for example), the manufacture of pipes and profiles made of non-ferrous metals (e.g. at KM Europa Metal AG), the production of special paper (by Felix Schoeller GmbH & Co. KG and Ahlstrom GmbH), the food industry (e.g. the ice cream maker Roncadin or Conditorei Coppenrath & Wiese), logistics, wholesale and retail. Furthermore, there is a broad and very stable range of small and mid-sized companies in Osnabrueck, primarily in the fields of metal and mechanical engineering. Osnabrueck has a large pool of qualified specialists in these areas.

The city's economy has been undergoing a successful structural transformation for a long time. Over 70% of the workforce in Osnabrueck works in the service industry. Many small and mid-sized companies, particularly newly founded companies, are responsible for the growth in the number of jobs provided in the service sector.