Services sector grows 0.9% in May, reveals IBGE

In the year, the sector, which includes activities such as retail trade, transport, real estate, tourism and food, increased by 4.8%. In 12 months, the positive balance is 6.4%.

Despite the resumption in May, the segment is 2% below the highest point in the IBGE historical series, reached in December 2022.

The transport sector, with a rise of 2.2%, was what most helped to push the monthly result upwards. “Cargo and passenger transport increased during the month. Already from the perspective of the modal, the main impacts for the positive result came from the road of loads, of the air of passengers and of the waterway of loads”, explains – in the site of the IBGE – the manager of the research, Rodrigo Lobo.

this performance was a reflection of the agricultural activity, which has been one of the main drivers of the Brazilian economy.

“The grain harvest records end up influencing transport, especially road freight. This impact is not new. From May 2020, still at the beginning of the covid-19 pandemic, there was an important growth in this sector, closely linked to the increase in agricultural production”, says Lobo.

Pandemic

Another factor that gave strength to the transport segment was a legacy started during the pandemic: the use of the internet for shopping, which moves freight services. There was “the e-commerce boom, with the large-scale migration of sales in physical stores to online platforms”, says the IBGE analyst.

The strength of agribusiness was also highlighted in the analysis by region. The state of Mato Grosso had expansion of 22.5% in the service sector in May. “The agro sector greatly influences road freight transport. Transport represents 77% of services in Mato Grosso, so any growth or decline determines the result of the sector in the state”, emphasizes Lobo.

After transport, the segment that most influenced the rise in the country was services provided to families, which grew 1.1% in May. Also positive, but with less weight in the general index, the branch of tourist activities expanded by 4% in May. It is the second consecutive positive result. The sector is 5.6% above the February 2020 level, before the pandemic began.

To get an idea of ​​the importance of the services sector for the economy – with job and income generation – the last survey of the General Register of Employees and Unemployed (New Caged)released by the Ministry of Labor and Employment and which provides an overview of the formal labor market – points out that, of the positive balance of 865,365 formal jobs created between January and May of this year, 521,540 are in the services sector.