Volume of services changed by 0.2% in April, with a cumulative increase of 9.5% in 2022 against the same period in 2021. With this result, the sector is 7.2% above the pre-pandemic level, of February 2020. Passnger transportation activities increased 2.3% in April, and were 0.1% above the level of February 2020. These results, released today (14) by the IBGE come from the Monthly Survey of Services (PMS).

“After two years and two months, transportation of passengers exceeded, for the first time, the pre-pandemic level, and confirmed the bigger mobility of the population, reflected in the increase of revenue of companies that operate passenger transportation in its different modes: air, road and railway,” says the manager of the survey, Rodrigo Lobo. The activity has a cumulative increase of 27.7% between november 2021 and April 2022.

In April, the positive change in the services sector was concentrated in two of the five activities investigated in the survey. In information and communication (0.7%), the highlight is still information technology activities, which reached the highest peak in the time series of PMS. “At the peak of the social distancing period due to the pandemic, there was an increasing demand for these services and this movement remains so far, as companies still need services such as software development, videoconferencing applications or digital marketing, says Mr.Lobo.

In terms of services rendered to families (1.9%), the biggest influence came from lodging and feeding. “It is a result that follows the continuity of the resumption of face-to-face services, notably, bars and restaurants,” says the manager of the survey.

On the other hand, transportation (-1.7%), professional, administrative and complementary services (-0.6%), and other services (-1.6%) recorded decreases in April. The first two activities interrupted a series of five positive rates in a row, whereas the last one, recording retraction, eliminated the increase of 1.4% (March).

Against April 2021, volume of services increased by 9.4%, and represented the 14th consecutive positive rate. Four of the five activities and 64.5% of the 166 types of services investigated by PMS recorded increase. A highlight is the sector of transportatio, support services for transportation and mailing (15.5%) and services rendered to families (60.8%), which accounted for the main positive influences. The only negative rate in the month was that of other services (-7.7%).

The cumulative index in the first four months of 2022 was 9.5%, with a positive rate in four of the five activities and an increase in 66.9% of the 166 types of services surveyed. Among the sectors a highlight for transportation, support services for transportation and mailing (15.6%). Services rendered to families (37.3%); professional, administrative and complementary services (8.1%); and information and communication (3,2%) were the other increases. The sector of other services (-3.8%) recorded a negative rate. Considering the cumulative index in the last 12 months, the index reached 12.8%.

In April, services recorded increase in 12 of the 27 Federation Units

From March to April, only 12 of the 27 Federation Units recorded positive changes. The main positive impact came from Rio de Janeiro (1.0%). According to Mr. Lobo, the Crnival festivity celebrated after the usual period may have contributed for the increase of the sector in the state. Other local highlight were Espírito Santo (3.6%), Rio Grande do Norte (7.9%) and Ceará (2.4%). From the perspective of decreases, the main negative contributions came from São Paulo (-0.5%), Minas Gerais (-2.8%), Federal District (-8.2%) and Rio Grande do Sul (-2.8%).

In comparison with April 2021, 24 of the 27 Federation Units recorded increase, the main highlight being São Paulo (9.9%), Minas Gerais (14.2%), Rio Grande do Sul (16.8%) and Rio de Janeiro (4.3%). In terms of the cumulative index in the first four quarters of 2022, 26 of the 27 Federation Units recorded increase, with the rates of São Paulo (11.0%), Minas Gerais (11.2%), Rio Grande do Sul (16.3%) and Bahia (14.2%) as the main ones. Rondônia was the only Federation Unit that recorded a decrease (-1.5%).

Tourism activities increased 2.5% in April

The tourism index activity increased by 2.5% in April, with a cumulative increase of 51.3% in the year. However, the segment of tourism is still 3.4% below the level of February 2020. All the 12 areas surveyed by PMS recorded increase in the activity. Rio de Janeiro (4.8%) leads the ranking, followed by Minas Gerais (4.6%), Bahia (6.8%) and Paraná (7.4%).

Cargo transportation changes by -0.1%

The volume of cargo transportation recorded a slight decrease of 0.1% in April 2022, after an increase of 11.1% cumulative between October 2021 and March 2022. Even so, the segment remains operating very close (-0.1% below) the peak of the series, hit in March 2022. In relation to the pre-pandemic level, cargo transportation is 23.1% above 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.