In January 2019, the services sector in Brazil had a negative change of 0.3% against December 2018, in the seasonally adjusted series. In the non-adjusted series, in relation to January 2018, the volume of services increased 2.1%, the greatest rate since March 2015 (2.3%). The cumulative rate of the year, which this month is the same as that of the comparison with January 2018, was of 2.1%, accelerating against the closing rate of 2018 (0.0%), when it interrupted three years in a row of negative results (2015-2017). In that period there was a cumulative loss of 11.0%. The cumulative rate in the last 12 months, from 0.0% December 2018 to 0.3% in January 2019, had the highest positive result since April 2015 (0.6%) and kept the predominantly upward trend seen since April 2017 (-5.1%). The complete publication of the Monthly Survey of Services (PMS) is on the right of this page.

The slight negative change (-0.3%) of the volume of services observed from December 2018 to January 2019 was seen by just two of the five disseminated activities surveyed, but, which together represent 63% of the total volume of the services surveyed: Transportation , support activities for transportation and mailing (-0.6%) and information and communication services (-0.2%), with the first one recording the second negative rate in a row, period in which accumulated a loss of 1.0%; and the last one returning a little part of the gain accumulated between September and December 2018 (2.9%).

Among the three activities that had expansion in January, the highlights stood with the sector of professional, administrative and complementary services (1.7%), which recovers a loss 1.6% seen in December last year; and other services (4.8%)n which accumulates a gain of 11.6% between October 2018 and January 2019. It is worth mentioning the advance coming from services rendered to families (1.1%), which registering the third positive result in a row, accumulated a gain of 1.7% in the period.

Also in the seasonally-adjusted series, the index of the quarterly moving average of the volume of services had a positive change (0.2%) in the quarter ended in January 2019 over the previous month, after having advanced 0.4% in the quarter ended in December 2018. Among the sectors, also in relation to the movement of this index on margin, the segment of other services (1.7%) recorded the sharpest expansion this month, followed by the information and communication services (0.5%) ad the services rendered to families (0.5%), with the first two keeping the upward trend initiated in September 2018 and the last with predominantly positive behavior since August 2018.

It is worth highlighting the positive change (0.1%) in the professional, administrative and complementary services, which interrupted two months of the sharpest falls in November (-1.0%) and December (-1.1%). Conversely, the only negative rate stood with the sector of Transportation , support activities for transportation and mailing (-0.2%), which kept the downward initiated last October.

In the comparison with the same month a year ago, the volume of the services sector advances 2.1% in January 2019, with expansion in four of the five activities of dissemination, but in just 45.8% of the 166 types of services investigated. Among the activities, the most relevant positive contribution of this month stood with the segment of information and communication services (3.4%), leveraged, to a great extent, by the increase of revenue of the activities of telecommunications, of portals and content providers and other services of information on the Internet, of custom software development and license and of consultancy on information technology.

The other positive figures came from services rendered to families (4.5%) and other services (5.8%) and transportation , support activities for transportation and mailing (0.9%) mainly explained by the increase in the revenue from enterprises in the hotel sector and catering and other services of prepared food, in the first sector; and collection of non-hazardous waste of domestic, urban and industrial origin and administration of stock exchange and counter market, in the second place; and road transportation of cargo, air transportation of passengers and pipeline transportation, in the latter.

On the other hand, the professional, administrative and complementary services (-0.5%) exerted the only negative influence on the global index, driven mostly by the drop-back of revenue from the advisory, technical consultancy to enterprises, payment solutions, electronic payment,legal activities and money transportation.

RESULTS BY REGION

Regionally, 14 of the 27 Federation units registered a retraction of the volume of services in January 2019, in the comparison with the previous month, followed the negative change (-0.3%) observed in Brazil in the seasonally adjusted series. Among the places with the negative results this months, the highlight is São Paulo (-0.5%), which returned part of the 2.8% gain seen between August and December 2018. 

On the other hand, the main positive regional positive contribution Rio de Janeiro (1.8%), Mato Grosso (9.9%), Ceará (8.1%) and Bahia (3.7%), with the first recording the second positive rate in a row, a period in which accumulated the gain of 5.8%; the second one recovering the strong retraction observed last December (-9.4%); the third one fully recovering the cumulative loss of 6.6% between in November and December; and the last one partially recovering the drop of 5.1% accumulated between September and December 2018.

In the comparison with the same month a year ago, the advance of the volume of services in Brazil (2.1%) was followed by 16 out of the 27 Federation Units. The main positive contribution stood with São Paulo (4.7%), with three of five sectors surveyed showing the advance in the volume of services, with the highlight for the gains observed in information and communication services (10.9%), followed by the services rendered to families (13.7%) and other services (7.4%).

On the other hand, the negative influence more important for the formation of the global index came from Rio de Janeiro (-2.1%), which recorded a retraction in two of the five investigated activities, with an absolute highlight of losses of the information and communication services (-12.0%). Other negative relevant impacts came from Ceará (-6.8%) and Bahia (-3.0%).

SPECIAL AGGREGATE OF TOURISM ACTIVITIES

The index of tourism activities recorded expansion of 3.2% between December 2018 and January 2019, interrupting four negative rates in a row in this type of comparison, a period in which it accumulated a loss of 2.9%. Regionally, seven of the twelve Federation Units followed this growth movement observed in Brazil, with a highlight for the advance coming from São Paulo (4.1%), which recovers parts of the cumulative loss (-7.4%) between October and December last year. Conversely, the most relevant negative influence came from Santa Catarina (-10.0%), which eliminates the cumulative gain in the two last months of 2018 (7.4%).

In the comparison with January 2019/January 2018, the index of volume of tourism activities in Brazil presented expansion of 3.8%, driven mainly by the revenue increase of hotel enterprises, catering services and other prepared food services  and of air transportation of passenger. Conversely, the segments of car rental and of restaurants exerted the most important negative influences on tourism services.

In regional terms, six of the 12 Federation Units where the indicator is investigated showed an advance in the services related to tourism, with a highlight to São Paulo (11.6%), which racks up the eleventh positive rate in row. Conversely, the most relevant negative impact come from Bahia (-4.4%), Santa Catarina (-4.8%) and Rio Grande do Sul (-4.7%).