Transportation sector boosted services in 2022 - Photo: Helena Pontes/IBGE News Agency

The services sector reached its highest level in the time series, started in 2011, with a 3.1% expansion registered in December 2022. The increase made the segment close on the rise for the second year in a row, expanding the distance from the pre-pandemic level to 14.4% above the volume presented in February 2020. The data are from the Monthly Survey of Services, released today (February 10) by the IBGE.

For the survey analyst, Luiz Almeida, the intensification in the resumption of face-to-face services after the periods of isolation and social distancing in 2020 and 2021 helps to explain the expansion in 2022. Mainly in the field of transportation, support services to transportation and mailing (13 .3%), the main influence for the year's result. “The transportation sector has grown since 2020, but with different dynamics: initially, because of the logistics area, with an increase in delivery services, replacing face-to-face purchases. In 2022, in turn, the influence of cargo transportation continues, driven by agricultural production, but also by the reopening and resumption of tourist activities, impacting the index in passenger transportation”, explains the analyst.

Professional, administrative and complementary services was the second with the greatest impact on the result, recording expansion of 7.7%. In this case, the highlight is to the segments of companies of car rentals, engineering services, electronic payment solutions and organization, promotion and management of fairs, congresses and conventions. The high in services rendered to families, third influence in the list, was of 24%, leveraged by segments as restaurants, hotels catering and physical conditioning. “Broadly speaking, sectors also linked to in-person activities”, reinforces Mr. Almeida. The set of rising sectors finally includes information and communication, with growth of 3.3%.

The only segment to retreat in 2022 was that of  other services (-2.1%), influenced by auxiliary financial services as securities brokerages, management of stock exchange and organized over-the-counter markets, and management of funds by contract or commission. In this case, the trend has also to do with the resumption of in-person services, but in an opposite way. “In the most severe social isolation periods, high-income families, who participated ore of this segment, reallocated their expenditures to this sector. With the growth in the post-isolation, the distribution of investments seems to have changes, with a redistribution of family expenses”, explains Mr. Almeida.

In December, four of five activities were on the rise

From November to December, the volume of services in Brazil grew 3.1%, in the seasonally adjusted series, after a cumulative loss of 1% in the months of October and November. The rise renewing the top level of the time series was seen in four of the five activities.

There was highlight also to the transportation sector (2.5%), which adds up to the second positive result in a row, accumulating a high of 3.1% in this cohort. The segment of other services (10.3%) also contributed to it, offsetting the loss recorded in November (3.3%).

Professional, administrative and complementary services (3.0%) and services rendered to families (2.4%) were the other rises. The former recorded the second consecutive positive result, with a cumulative gain of 3.6%; whereas the latter eliminated the cumulative losses in the October-November period, when it presented a decrease of 1.8%.

The only sector closing the month in the negative field was that of information and communication services. It is the second drop in a row, accumulating a decrease of -2,9% in the months of November and December. Before that, the segment had a sequence of four positive rates (between July and October), accumulating a 5.1% high.

Expansion is recorded in 26 FUs in 2022

IN the cumulative result of the year, the rise in the volume of services in Brazil was followed by 16 Federation Units (FU), with a highlight to São Paulo (9.7%), Minas Gerais (11.2%), Rio de Janeiro (4%), Rio Grande do Sul (11.3%), Pernambuco (11.2%), Paraná (4.4%) and Mato Grosso (13.8%). The Federal District (-1.6%) was the only one to shrink.

From November to December there were rises in 22 of the 27 FUs and the main influence was Rio de Janeiro (5%), followed by São Paulo (0.8%), Minas Gerais (4.6%) and Federal District (13.4%).

Tourism: high of 4.1% in December contributes to the annual expansion of 29.9%

The special aggregate of tourism activities grew 4.1% in December 2022, after registering stability in the previous month. Thus, the segment demonstrates a high of 29.9% in the year, recording positive results in 12 places in 2022. Highlights to São Paulo (36%), followed by Minas Gerais (49.4%), Rio de Janeiro (16.1%), Rio Grande do Sul (35.8%) and Bahia (23.4%).

As a result, the segment is 1.5% above the level of February 2020 (pre-pandemic) and 5.5% below the highest figure in the series, reached in February 2014.

Passenger transportation closes the year with high of 29.2%; cargo transportation, with rise of 15%

The volume of passenger transportation in Brazil increased 7.1% in December, against the previous month, in the seasonally adjusted series. The result makes the sector accumulate gains of 11.1% in the last two months of the year, closing 2022 with a high of 29.2%, a level 5.4% above the level of February 2020 (pre-pandemic) and 18.2%below February 2014 (highest point of the time series)

Cargo Transportation grew 1.4% in December, recording high of 15% in 2022. The sector is 0.6% below the highest point of its series, reached in August 2022, and 33.4% above the pre-pandemic level, of February 2020.

More about PMS

The Monthly Survey of Services produces indicators to monitor the short-term behavior of the services sector in Brazil. The survey investigates the gross revenue from services in formal enterprises employing 20 or more persons, in which the main activity is a non-financial service, excluding the areas of health and education.  It produces results for Brazil and all the Federation Units.  Results are available at Sidra.