Services advance 0.9% in May and have 3rd high in four months, says IBGE

Services rose 0.9% from April to May, informed the IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics) this Tuesday (12). It is the third positive result of the sector in the last four months, period in which it accumulated a gain of 3.3%.

With the result of May, the sector is 8.4% above the pre-pandemic level, recorded in February 2020, and 2.8% below the highest point of the Monthly Services Survey (PMS) historical series, reached in November 2014, the institute said.

All five activities that make up the survey had a positive result.

For PMS manager Rodrigo Lobo, this growth spread by activities has become more frequent due to the effects of the pandemic. “Before 2020, it was much rarer to see activities growing simultaneously. This is related to the low comparison base because of the effects of social isolation measures, especially in face-to-face services. Since then, with the reduction of restrictions, these activities continue at a faster pace,” he said.

Transport sector advances 0.9%

The transport sector, with expansion of 0.9%, was one of the sectors that most impacted the advance of services in May. With this growth, the segment recovers part of the 2.5% drop recorded in April. In the year, transport accumulated expansion of 14.9%.

“Information technology services and cargo transport were the drivers that boosted May’s result. Cargo transport, especially road transport, in addition to meeting the demand of electronic commerce and the agricultural sector, has also been important for the industrial sector, notably capital goods and intermediate goods, which are the categories of use that operate above pre-pandemic level,” says Lobo.

By growing 1.8%, cargo transport reached the highest point in its historical series, which began in January 2011.

Another major impact on the general index came from the information and communication segment, which, like the transport sector, also increased by 0.9% in May. This result is the third consecutive positive result for the activity, accumulating growth of 3.4% in this period.

“In May, the information technology sector grew 2.4%, also reaching the highest level in its historical series. Companies in this segment, such as application development and internet search tools, continue to take advantage of the business opportunities created from the pandemic, in which services such as digitization, digital media, remote communication interfaces and storage of data in the cloud had significant increases in demand from companies”, he said.

In update