The services sector recorded, in May 2015, a nominal growth of 1.1%, in the comparison with the same month a year ago, below the rates of April (1.7%) and March (6.1%). It was the second lowest rate of the series started in 2012 - February's rate in 2015 (0.9%) was the lowest. The cumulative rate in the year reached 2.3% and in 12 months, 3.8%. In the comparison between May 2015/May 2014, three out of the five segments of the services sector registered positive nominal changes: Professional, administrative and complementary services, with 5.5%; Transportation, support activities for transportation and mailing activities, with 0.8%, Other services, with 0.3%. Negative nominal changes were seen in Services rendered to families, with -1.4% and in Other information and communication services, with -0,8%. In the formation of the general rate, the contributions were: Professional, administrative and complementary services (1.2 p.p.); Transportation, support activities for transportation and mailing activities (0.3 p.p.); Other services did not record a significant change (0.0 p.p.). Negative nominal changes were seen in Services rendered to families (-0.1 p.p.) and Information and communication services (-0.3% 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.

Table 1

Indicators of Nominal Revenue of the Service Sector According to Group of Activities
Brazil - May 2015

Source: IBGE, Diretoria de Pesquisas, Coordenação de Serviços e Comércio.

The segment of Services rendered to families contracted 1.4%, in May, over the same month a year ago, against a growth of 1.2% in April and of 2.5% in March. The cumulative rate in the year stood at 3.6% and, in 12 months, at , 5.9%. Lodging and food services and Other services rendered to families recorded decrease of 1.6% and 0.6%, respectively. The reduction of the purchasing power of the employed population in relation to May 2014 (made evident by the 5.0% decrease in the usual real average earnings and by the 5.8% contraction in the usual real wage bill of the employed population, coupled with the price change of the item 'food away from home' - above the global average of May's IPCA) caused Services rendered to families to register the first negative nominal change of the series initiated in January 2012.   

Information and communication services posted a nominal change of -0.8% in May over the same month a year ago, against -0.1% in April and 2.9% in March. The cumulative change in the year stood at 0.2% and, in 12 months, at 1.1%. Communication and information technology services - ICT, which comprise Telecommunication and information technology services, recorded a change of 0.9%, whereas Audiovisual, publishing and news agency services had a negative change of -10.2%. 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 5.5%, in May, in the comparison with the same month a year ago, below April's change (6.6%) and above March's (8.7%). The cumulative rate in the year stood at 6.0% and, in 12 months, at 7.7%. Technical-professional services, which encompass knowledge-intensive services, recorded decrease of 3.7% and Administrative and complementary services, which encompass labor-intensive services, grew 8.9%. Technical-professional services were also affected by the spending cuts on the part of the governments (federal, state and municipal) and enterprises, which reduced the hiring of services, mainly marketing and advertising and Engineering services.     

The segment of Transportation, support activities for transportation and mailing registered a nominal growth of 0.8%, in May, over the same month last year. In April, the segment recorded a 1.2% change and, in March, 8.7%. The cumulative change in the year stood at 2.2% and, in 12 months, at 3.5%. In terms of mode, the figures were: Land transportation, with 1.9%, Water transportation, with 23.4% and Air transportation, with -1.2%. The activity of Storage services, support activities for transportation and mailing activities registered a growth of 2.4%. The negative result seen in Land transportation is due to the lower demand of the industrial sector, mainly Land transportation of cargo.  This lower demand is true for both input acquisition and production flow. 

The segment of Other services registered a nominal change of 0.3%, against -2.3% of April and 5.3% of March. The cumulative rate in the year stood at 0.5% and in 12 months, at 4.4%.

In May, Amazonas (-8.6%) posted greatest drop in the service sector

Concerning the results by area in May, in the comparison with the same month a year ago, the greatest positive changes in the service sector were registered in Rondônia (12.9%), Bahia (6.5%), and Pará (6.4%). The lowest positive changes were recorded in Rio Grande do Sul (0.2%), Rio de Janeiro and Santa Catarina (both with 0.3%) and Piauí (0.5%). Negative nominal changes were seen in the following Federation Units: Amazonas (-8.6%), Maranhão (-4.9%), Espírito Santo (-4.1%), Federal District (-3.3%), Goiás
(-3.1%), Sergipe (-2.7%), Acre (-2.6%), Mato Grosso (-2.3%), Rio Grande do Norte
(-1.6%), Minas Gerais (-1.1%) and Paraná (-0.6%).

Graph 7
Change rate of the nominal revenue of the Service sector, by
Federation Unit, Month/Same month a year ago

Source: IBGE, Diretoria de Pesquisas, Coordenação de Serviços e Comércio