Compared with the previous month, when it had advanced 0.2% over March, volume of services changed 0.1% in Brazil in May 2025. This is the fourth positive result in a row, with a cumulative gain of 1.6%. The positive change this month was mainly leveraged by the activity of professional, administrative and complementary services, which grew 0.9%. As for the pre-pandemic level, the total volume of services is 17.5% above February 2020. Compared with May 2024, the sector expanded 3.6%, the 14th positive rate in a row. The data are from the Monthly Survey of Services (PMS), released today (11) by the IBGE.

The analyst of the survey, Rodrigo Lobo, comments that the index of May 2025 equals the peak of the time series, reached previously in October 2024. “Since then, the services sector has never been far from this apex. The largest distance was in January 2025, when it stayed -1.7% below October 2024."

In the activity of professional, administrative and complementary services, which accumulated a gain of 2.9% in the last four months, the highlight was the segment of technical-professional services, where revenue increases from companies that work with advertising spaces; engineering services; and business intermediation in general through e-commerce applications or platforms were registered.

Other services (1.5%) advanced as well, recovering part of the loss of 2.1% recorded between March and April, and information and communication (0.4%), with the second consecutive increase and a cumulative gain of 0.5%. Transportation (-0.3%) and services rendered to families (-0.6%) marked the negative rates of the month.

“Transportation was the main negative impact this month, though with a slighter negative change. The most relevant setbacks came from transportation logistics and maritime transport, both cabotage and long -haul. Anyway, this small retreat in May eliminates only a small portion of the cumulative gain of 3.1% between February and April,” explained Lobo.

From January to May this year, volume of services expanded 2.5% over the same period of 2024. Having advanced 3.0% in May 2025, the cumulative index in the last 12 months, accelerated the growth pace compared to that observed in April 2025 (2.7%).

Passenger transportation (3.3%) grew, while that of cargo (-0.5%) decreased

In the seasonally-adjusted series, volume of passenger transportation in Brazil expanded 3.3% in May 2025 over April. It is the fourth positive result in a row, when it accumulated a gain of 11.4%. Therefore, the segment is, in this reference month, 9.4% above the level of February 2020 ( pre-pandemic) and 16.0% below February 2014 (peak of the time series).

In turn, volume of cargo transportation decreased by 0.5% in May 2025, the second consecutive retreat, a period in which it accumulated a loss of 0.7%. Therefore, the segment is 7.3% below the peak of its time series (July 2023). Regarding the pre-pandemic level, cargo transportation is 34.4% above February 2020.

Services grew in 9 out of 27 Federation Units

In regional terms, the smallest (9) part of the 27 Federation Units expanded in volume of services in May 2025, compared to April of the same year. The highlights were São Paulo (0.8%) and Rio de Janeiro (1.8%). In São Paulo, the most important advances came from auxiliary financial services, information technology services and cargo road transportation. In Rio de Janeiro, the services that mostly grew were air passenger transportation, transportation logistics and municipal passenger mass transportation.

Compared to May 2024, services grew 3.6%

Compared with May 2024, the expansion of volume of services in Brazil (13.6%) was followed by 21 out of 27 Federation Units. The most important positive contribution was with São Paulo (5.6%), followed by Rio de Janeiro (2.7%), Santa Catarina (5.7%), Minas Gerais (2.4%), Paraná (2.6%) and Federal District (4.9%). In the opposite direction, Rio Grande do Sul (-9.2%) led the losses of the month, followed by Bahia (-0.9%), Tocantins (-5.7%) and Pernambuco (-0.7%).

Tourism activities retreat 0.7% in May

In May 2025, the tourism activity rate retreated 0.7% compared to the immediately preceding month after advancing 3.2% in April. With this performance, the tourism sector is 12.4% above February 2020 and 1.1% below the peak of its time series, reached in December 2024.

Regionally, 9 out of 17 places surveyed followed this drop movement recorded in the national tourism activity (-0.7%). The most relevant negative influence was with São Paulo (-2.7%), followed by Pernambuco (-3.3%), Bahia (-1.8%) and Goiás (-4.3%). In the opposite direction, Rio de Janeiro (2.3%) and Paraná (2.6%) led tourism gains this month.

In the comparison between May 2025 and May 2024, the index of volume of tourism activities in Brazil expanded 9.5%, the 12th consecutive positive result, mainly driven by the increase in revenue from companies operating in passenger air transportation, hotels, catering services and reservation services related to accommodation.

Sixteen out of 17 Federation Units where the indicator is investigated showed advances in tourism services, especially Rio de Janeiro (22.2%) and São Paulo (6.1%), followed by Rio Grande do Sul (49.8%), Bahia (12.5%) and Paraná (10.6%). In contrast, Minas Gerais (-1.7%) exerted the only negative impact of the month.

More about the survey 

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. The results are available on Sidra. The next release of the Monthly Survey of Services, related to June, will be on August 14.