Services grow 0.3% in March, the second consecutive increase

The volume of services in the country grew by 0.3% in March this year, compared to February. This is the second consecutive increase in the indicator, which had shown an expansion of 0.9% in February. As a result, the services sector has accumulated a gain of 1.2% in this two-month period.

The segment also showed increases of 1.9% compared to March last year, 2.4% in the first quarter and 3% in the 12-month period, according to data released this Wednesday 14 by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics ( IBGE ).

Researcher Rodrigo Lobo, from IBGE, said that the services sector “has been holding very close to its record level, reached in October 2024. Now, in March 2025, the sector is only 0.5% below the peak of the series, being the second highest point in the historical series, which began in January 2011.”

For him, even declines such as those recorded in November 2024 and January of this year cannot be seen as a reversal of trajectory, because fluctuations in services “are natural”. The sector is 16.5% above the pre-pandemic level (February 2020).

Between February and March, three of the five service activities showed growth, with a highlight on transport (1.7%), which recorded its second positive result in a row, with an accumulated gain of 2.2%.

Expansion

Professional, administrative and complementary services (0.6%) and services provided to families (1.5%) also expanded. Both had grown in February and show accumulated gains of 1.9% and 1.8%, respectively.

Other services remained stable, after accumulating a 5.5% increase in two months. The information and communication segment fell (-0.2%), after having accumulated a 3.8% gain between November 2024 and February this year.

The tourism activity index fell by 0.2% from February to March, after having grown by 2.7% from January to February. The tourism sector is 9.2% above the level of February 2020 and 3.9% below the peak of its historical series, reached in December 2024.

Nominal revenue from services grew 1% compared to February this year, 7.5% compared to March last year, 7.6% year-to-date and 7.7% over 12 months.