Volume of services grows 0.9% in March

In March 2023, the volume of services in Brazil increased by 0.9% compared to February, in the seasonally adjusted series. As a result, the sector was 12.4% above the February 2020 level (pre-pandemic) and 1.3% below December 2022, the peak of the historical series.

The increase was followed by three of the five surveyed activities, with emphasis on transport sectors with 3.6%, administrative and complementary services with 2.6% and communication services with 2.5%. The first increased the 7.0% gain in February and March 2023. And the second recovered part of the 3.4% loss in the first two months of the year. Data are from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE).

For economist Carla Beni, from the Getúlio Vargas Foundation, the result is important since in January there was a drop of 2.9%.

“It is an important result, since we are making a recovery in January where there was a drop of 2.9%. So, when you take the accumulated result for the year, January, February and March, the services sector, which is extremely broad and covers 166 types of services, it presents a positive accumulated result of 5.8%,” he says.

Services grew in 24 of the 27 Federation units in March. They were identified in São Paulo with 1.8%, Rio de Janeiro 2.8%, Minas Gerais 3.2%, Santa Catarina 5.9% and Rio Grande do Sul 2.8%. The negative results were in Pernambuco with 2.3%, Mato Grosso 1.9% and Amapá with 1.7%.

For Beni, this boost was due to the increase in revenue from some specific segments. “From car rental, restaurants, travel agencies, hotels, catering services, passenger bus services and even shows,” he points out.

Index of tourist activities stands at 0.1% in March

The Activity Index changed by 0.1% compared to the previous month, after registering a drop of 1.3% in February.

Thus, the tourism segment is 1.4% above the February 2020 level and 5.9% below the highest point in the series, reaching February 2014.

Regionally, only four of the 12 locations verified showed a positive variation, with the most important influence coming from Minas Gerais with 2.2%, soon after by São Paulo with 0.4%, Paraná 2.6% and Bahia with 1.8 %. On the other hand, Rio de Janeiro 3%, Rio Grande do Sul 5% and the Federal District 3.6% noted the main declines in regional terms.

By Brasil 61