Service sector grows 1% in 2019 and is 1st high in 5 years says IBGE

The volume of services provided in Brazil grew by 1% in 2019, interrupting a sequence of 4 years without growth, according to data released on Thursday (13) by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). According to IBGE, 4 of the 5 activities surveyed grew last year, with positive rates in 55.4% of the 166 types of services investigated. In December, however, the volume of services in the country fell 0.4% compared to the previous month, the second consecutive drop in the sector. "In 2018 we had stability and now we have a positive field return, noting that between 2015 and 2017 we had a cumulative loss of 11%, so this high is important, but it is still far from achieving the best result in the sector," said the research manager Rodrigo Lobo. The volume of services provided in Brazil grew by 1% in 2019, interrupting a sequence of 4 years without growth, according to data released on Thursday (13) by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). According to IBGE, 4 of the 5 activities surveyed grew last year, with positive rates in 55.4% of the 166 types of services investigated. In December, however, the volume of services in the country fell 0.4% compared to the previous month, the second consecutive drop in the sector. "In 2018 we had stability and now we have a positive field return, noting that between 2015 and 2017 we had a cumulative loss of 11%, so this high is important, but it is still far from achieving the best result in the sector," said the research manager Rodrigo Lobo. Nominal revenue from services provided in the country, grew 4.5% in 201 compared to the previous year. In December, there was a 0.3% increase compared to November. Information and technology activities pull high The growth of the sector in 2019 was mainly driven by the information and communication segment, which accumulated a 3.3% increase in the year. According to IBGE, growth was driven, in large part, by increased revenue from companies operating in the segments of portals, content providers and information services on the Internet and information technology. "This activity includes, for example, search tools. This growth is also justified by the way in which these multinationals advertise on social media, which reflects on increased revenue," Lobo explained. Another highlight of the year were car rental services, which came to be more demanded both by changing consumer behavior, which chooses not to have a car, as well as the increase of app drivers, who rent vehicles to work. GDP 2019 and prospects The day before, IBGE reported that retail sales grew 1.8% in 2019, at the third annual high in a row, but lost pace compared to the advance recorded in 2017 (2.1%) and 2018 (2.3%). Production in the industry accumulated a drop of 1.1% in 2019, after 2 years of high.. The financial market works with an estimated GDP growth (Gross Domestic Product) in 2019 just above 1%, after an increase of 1.3% in both 2017 and 2018%. The government projects a 1.12% increase in GDP last year. For 2020, analysts at financial institutions project a better desemprenho of the economy, with growth of 2.30% of GDP, according to the central bank's latest Focus survey.