Pandemic pushes services revenue down 11.7 percent in April

Stands in Niterói (Rio de Janeiro) were closed due to the pandemic. Photo: Aline Alcantara/Shutterstock

The Brazilian services sector fell 11.7 percent in April — its worst monthly decline on record. The sector’s performance over the year’s first four months was down 4.5 percent from 2019.

Services include some economic sectors that were heavily disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic, such as tourism, transport, and hospitality. Air travel saw the sharpest decline in April (77.2 percent) as most flights have been grounded by the coronavirus.

This was also the first time that the volume of all activities listed within the sector decreased in comparison to the previous month, making April the worst month since the 2018 trucker’s strike, which almost completely halted the land transportation of goods around the country. In comparison to the same period last year, the volume of activities was down by 17.2 percent.

Services are one of the main driving forces of Brazil’s GDP, contributing to 60 percent of the national economy. The Brazilian Report previously reported on record-breaking drops in industry in April, hinting at the country’s GDP having its worst contraction in history this year.

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