The services sector registered a nominal growth of 6.8% in March compared with the same month last year, below the rates recorded in February (10.1% revised) and in January (9.2%). Services rendered to families rose 10.0%; information and communication services, 4.4%; professional, administrative and complementary services, 8.8%; transportation, support activities for transportation and mailing activities, 8.0%; and other services, 3.3%. Both the nominal cumulative growth in the year and the cumulative growth in 12 months stayed at 8.7%. The growth rate in March was the third smallest since the beginning of the time series (Jan/2012), only above that recorded in March (6.1%) and August 2013 (6.6%).    

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/english/estatistica/indicadores/serviços/pms.

The segments of information and communication services and transportation, support activities for transportation and mailing activities represented the highest weights in the structure of the services sector (35.7% and 30.7%, respectively). As a result, the growth of 4.4% registered in information and communication services (below the rates of 6.7% in February and 8.7% in January) and the growth of 8.0% recorded in transportation, support activities for transportation and mailing activities (below the rates of 14.7% in February and 9.7% in January) contributed to a lower increase in the services sector in March, compared with the previous months. 

Services rendered to families changed 10.0% in March over the same month a year ago, below the rates posted in February (13.3%) and January (13.0%). The highlights in this segment were housing and food services, which grew 10.2%, and other services rendered to families, which rose 8.8%.  Despite the decline registered in March, the cumulative time series in the first three months of 2014 stood at a higher level than in 2013. In the last 12 months, the volume of the average usual real earnings of the employed population changed from R$ 45,348 million in April 2013 to R$ 47,161 million in March 2014, registering a growth of 4.0%.

Information and communication services recorded a growth of 4.4%, below the rates of February (6.7%) and January (8.7%). Information and communication technology services - ICT, which comprise telecommunications and information technology services, recorded a change of 4.6%, whereas audiovisual, publishing and news agency services increased 3.0%. The segment of information and communication services accounted for 22.1% of relative contribution in March, contributing with 1.5 p.p. to the absolute composition of the overall index.

Professional, administrative and complementary services rose 8.8% in March over the same month a year ago, against 9.3% in February and 8.9% in January. Technical-professional services, which encompass knowledge-intensive services, grew 7.5% and administrative and complementary services, which encompass labor-intensive services, 9.3%. By relatively contributing with 27.9%, this segment contributed with 1.9 p.p. in absolute terms to the overall index.

The segment of transportation, support activities for transportation and mailing activities registered a nominal growth of 8.0% in March over the same month last year, below the rates reported in February (14.7%) and January (9.7%). All the transportation systems posted rates below those in February, highlighted by waterway transportation. This system rose 8.5% against 23.3% in February, impacted by reduced exports. The segment of air transportation grew 12.9%, while land transportation stayed at 7.1%. Warehousing services, support activities for transportation and mailing activities changed 8.1%, below the rates in the previous months (17.2% in February and 18.9% in January). The segment of transportation, support activities for transportation and mailing activities contributed with 36.8% in relative terms and, in absolute terms, contributed with 2.5 p.p. to the overall index.

The segment of other services registered a nominal growth of 3.3%.

All states change positively in March

Despite the lower growth in relation to the last two months, all the states posted a nominal positive change in March, highlighted by Mato Grosso (20.4%) and the Federal District (20.3%),  followed by Acre (15.1%) and Paraíba (11.5%). The lowest rates were registered in Rondônia and Piauí (0.7% for both), Roraima (1.2%), Sergipe (1.3%) and Tocantins (2.0%).

As to services rendered to families, the highest growth rates were registered in Ceará (31.0%), Espírito Santo (21.8%) and Goiás (16.7%). The lowest rates were recorded in the Federal District (4.4%), Minas Gerais (4.7%) and Pernambuco (5.4%).

Concerning information and communication services, Goiás stood out by registering the highest rate (18.8%), followed by the Federal District (18.5%) and Santa Catarina (12.4%). The lowest positive rates were recorded in São Paulo (4.4%), Rio de Janeiro (5.6%) and Rio Grande do Sul (6.6%). Negative changes were posted in Bahia (-9.9), Ceará (-2.9%), Minas Gerais (-2.7%), Pernambuco (-2.4%) and Espírito Santo (-1.2)

In regard to professional, administrative and complementary services, the Federal District was the highlight with the highest growth rate (25.2%), followed by Bahia (25.1%) and Rio de Janeiro (11.4%). The lowest positive changes were registered in Espírito Santo (1.0%), Minas Gerais (2.3%) and Ceará (3.0%). In this segment, Goiás and Rio Grande do Sul recorded negative changes (-11.1% and -0.9%, respectively).

In the segment of transportation, support activities for transportation and mailing activities, the highlights were the Federal District (24.5%), Ceará (10.1%) and São Paulo (8.6%), with the highest changes over the same month a year ago. The lowest changes were registered in Pernambuco (3.2%), Rio de Janeiro (3.5%) and Espírito Santo (4.4%).

As to the segment of other services, the highest rates were recorded in Ceará (30.0%), the Federal District (23.1%) and Santa Catarina (14.1%). The lowest positive rates were posted in Goiás (1.8%), Minas Gerais (2.6%) and Espírito Santo (4.6%). São Paulo registered a nominal negative change of -1.2%.

Revenue from services grows 8.7% in the first quarter of 2014

The quarterly figures showed that the nominal growth of the services sector in the first quarter of 2014 stayed at 8.7% in relation to the first quarter of 2013, standing at the same level as in the fourth quarter of 2013 (8.6%). The highest rate was registered in services rendered to families (12.0%), followed by transportation, support activities for transportation and mailing activities (10.7%), professional, administrative and complementary services (9.0%), information and communication services (6.6%) and other services (5.5%).