The sector of Services registered a growth in the nominal revenue of 1.7% in April over the same month a year ago. That was below the rate seen in March (6.1%) and above the rate of February (0.9%). This result is the second lowest of the series, started in 2012, and February's rate, the lowest one. The cumulative rate in the year reached 2.6% and in 12 months, 4.3%. There was growth in Professional, administrative and complementary services, with 6.7%; Services rendered to families, with 1.2% and Transportation, support activities for transportation and mailing, with 1.0%. Negative nominal changes were seen in Information and communication services, with -0.1% and Other services, with -2.2%. In terms of composition of the rate, the contributions were: Professional, administrative and complementary services (1.4 p.p.), Transportation, support activities for transportation and mailing (0.3 p.p.) and Services rendered to families (0.1 p.p.). Information and communication services did not record a significant contribution (0.0 p.p.) and Other services had a negative contribution of -0.1 p.p.

The Monthly Survey of Services (PMS) is the first short-term indicator that investigates the services sector in Brazil. It encompasses the activities comprising non-financial business segments, except the sectors of health, education, public administration and imputed rent (value the owners would earn in case they rented the properties where they live). The complete publication can be accessed on page www.ibge.gov.br/home/estatistica/indicadores/servicos/pms.

The segment of Services rendered to families posted in Brazil a change of 1.2% in April over the same month a year ago. That was below March's (2.5%) and February's rate (6.8%). The cumulative rate in the year stood at 4.9% and in 12 months, at 7.0%. Lodging and food services registered a nominal change of 1.1% and Other services rendered to families, 1.6%. The reduced purchasing power of the population (the usual real wage bill shrank 3.8%, in the comparison between April 2015/April 2014, according to the monthly employment survey of IBGE) coupled with the price growth in food away from home, above the overall average of April's IPCA, made the nominal change of Services rendered to families reach the lowest level since the beginning of the series.

Information and communication services posted a nominal change of -0.1% in April over the same month a year ago, against 2.9% in March and 0.7% in February. The cumulative change in the year stood at 0.4% and in 12 months, at 1.6%. Communication and information technology services - ICT, which comprise telecommunications and information technology services, recorded a change of 1.1%, whereas audiovisual, publishing and news agency services had a negative change of -6.8%. The spending cuts in marketing and advertising, by the governments (federal, state and municipal) and enterprises, contributed to the negative change in Audiovisual, publishing and news agency services, especially in the activities of Broadcast television.

Professional, administrative and complementary services presented a change of 6.7% in April, in the comparison with the same month a year ago, below March's change (8.7%) and above February's (3.6%). The cumulative rate in the year stood at 6.2% and in 12 months, at 7.9%. Technical-professional services, which encompass knowledge-intensive activities, shrank 2.3% due to the already mentioned spending cut by the governments (federal, and municipal) and enterprises, which reduced the hiring of services. The other activity that integrated the segment, Administrative and complementary services, which encompasses labor-intensive activities, grew 9.9%. The favorable sectoral performance of this activity can be attributed, especially, to the essential character of its main services.

The segment of Transportation, support activities for transportation and mailing registered a nominal growth of 1.0%, in April, over the same month last year. In March, the segment recorded a change of 8.7% and, in February, a negative change of -1.8%. The cumulative rate in the year stood at 2.6% and in 12 months, at 4.0%. In terms of mode, the figures were: Land transportation, with 1.5%, Water transportation, with 14.6% and Air transportation, with -1.1%. The activity of Storage services, support activities for transportation and mailing activities registered a reduction of 1.2%. This unfavorable performance was influenced by the downturn in the industrial activities, which resulted from the lower demand for Land transportation, mainly Land transportation of cargo, both for input acquisition and for the production flow. This factor also contributed to a lower demand in the activity of Storage services, support activities for transportation and mailing activities.

The segment of Other services, encompassing real estate activities (intermediation, management and administration of own and third-party properties); maintenance and repair services; financial support services; agricultural support services; sewerage and services of collection, treatment and disposal of waste and recovery of materials, recorded a negative nominal change of -2.2%, over 5,3% in March and -0.4% in February. The cumulative rate in the year stood at 0.6% and in 12 months, at 4.8%.

In April, 14 Federation Units registered negative changes

In relation to results by area, 13 out of the 27 Federation Units recorded positive nominal changes in the comparison between April 2015 and the same month a year ago, with a highlight to Rondônia (7.9%); Ceará (4.5%); and Mato Grosso do Sul (3.9%). The lowest positive changes were: 0.7% in Rio de Janeiro; 1.6% for Pernambuco; and 2.0% in Pará and Minas Gerais. The states with the highest negative rates were: Roraima (-9.9%); Amapá (-9.8%); Maranhão (-6.8%); Espírito Santo (-4.8%); and Mato Grosso (-4.3%).