Monthly Survey of Services
Services sector changes 0.3% in October, ninth positive result in a row
December 12, 2025 09h00 AM | Last Updated: December 12, 2025 10h28 AM
The services sector changed 0.3% in October, compared to September, the ninth positive result in a row, a period in which it accumulated an increase of 3.7%. As a result, volume of services is 20.1% above the pre-pandemic level (February 2020) and renewed the record level in the time series. This is the longest sequence of positive results since the eight-month period between February and September 2022, when there was a cumulative growth of 5.6%.
The data comes from the Monthly Services Survey (PMS), released today (12), by IBGE. Compared to October 2024, volume of services increased 2.2%, adding up to 19 consecutive positive rates. The cumulative result in the year was 2.8%. In 12 months, there was also an increase of 2.8%, reducing the pace of expansion compared to that accumulated until September (3.1%).
All five activities increased, with emphasis on transportation (1.0%), which recorded the third positive result in a row, with a cumulative gain of 2.4%, renewing the peak of its time series.
Air transportation and cargo transportation were protagonists again. “Air transportation has grown due to the greater number of passengers transported, which is reflected in higher revenues for airlines. And the increase in revenues of cargo transportation companies is growing, to a large extent, due to freights carried out to transport the agricultural production, which will have a record harvest this year, and deliveries from electronic commerce,” explains the survey manager, Rodrigo Lobo.
The other advances in the services sector came from information and communication (0.3%), which reduced the pace of expansion compared to September (1.2%); other services (0.5%), which showed the fourth consecutive increase, with a cumulative gain of 3.4%; and professional and administrative services (0.1%) and services rendered to families (0.1%), both with slight increases after a decrease in the previous month.
“IT services, within the information and communication sector, have been in high demand in the post-pandemic, due to the need for digitalization of companies. With continued increases in cloud data storage services, application development and licensing, information technology consultancy, data processing and IT technical support,” assesses the survey manager.
Passenger transportation grows 2.3% and cargo transportation, 0.9%
The volume of passenger transportation recorded an expansion of 2.3% from September to October (seasonally adjusted), the third positive result in a row, a period in which it accumulated a gain of 3.2%. Therefore, the segment is 13.1% above the level of February 2020 (pre-pandemic) and 13.0% below February 2014 (highest point in the time series).
In this same comparison, the volume of cargo transportation increased 0.9% in October 2025, the fifth positive result in a row, a period in which it accumulated gains of 3.7%. Therefore, the segment is 2.5% below the highest point in its time series (July 2023). In relation to the pre-pandemic level, cargo transportation is 41.0% above February 2020.
“These groups of passengers and cargo include other modes in addition to air and road. But passenger air transportation has been decisive in the passenger transportation segment and road transportation has had more influence on cargo transportation,” explains Lobo.
Tourism activities increase 0.8%
The tourism activity index grew 0.8% in October, compared to the immediately previous month (seasonally adjusted). This is the third positive result in a row, a period in which it accumulated a gain of 2.1%. As a result, the tourism segment is 12.7% above the level of February 2020 and 1.0% below the peak of its time series (December 2024).
“The increase in tourism activities is also due to the increase in the revenue from air passenger transportation companies,” says the survey manager.
Regionally, 13 out of 17 places followed the growth of national tourism activity (0.8%). The most relevant positive contribution came from Rio de Janeiro (3.1%), followed by Rio Grande do Sul (4.5%), Paraná (2.4%) and Santa Catarina (3.5%). In the opposite direction, São Paulo (-0.1%) led tourism losses this month, followed by Amazonas (-0.7%) and Goiás (-0.5%).
Most (15) of the 27 Federation Units showed a growth in volume of services in October 2025, compared to September (seasonally adjusted). The most significant positive impacts came from Rio de Janeiro (2.0%) and Paraná (2.5%), followed by Espírito Santo (4.6%), Mato Grosso do Sul (6.3%) and Santa Catarina (1.1%). On the other hand, São Paulo (-0.6%), Rio Grande do Sul (-2.9%) and the Federal District (-3.9%) exerted the main negative influences, followed by Mato Grosso (-3.3%) and Minas Gerais (-0.4%).
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 PMS, related to November, will be on January 13.
