Services Sector Survey

The Services Sector Survey is the first national effort to systematically collect information on this sector, which accounts for over 60% of national GDP. The monthly survey by the Brazilian Institute of Economics of the Getulio Vargas Foundation (IBRE/FGV) reports on short-term trends and business outlook. The results can be used for business decisions and economic policy making.

The historical series of the Services Survey started in June 2008. The monthly reports are released on the fifth day of the month following data collection; the timetable is posted in advance at the IBRE/FGV website. The methodology, which is aligned with international experience, emphasizes the evolution of variables related to the operational environment that make it possible to understand the general state of business in the sector. The Services Confidence Index (ICS) summarizes the survey results.

The survey questionnaire, which is directed to businesses only, covers such topics as the business outlook, demand level, sales, prices, and numbers of employees. Questions cover four time horizons: the quarter immediately preceding the month of the survey; the time of the survey itself; forecasts for the quarter beginning in the month of the survey, and, for the question on the business outlook, forecasts for the six months beginning in the month of the survey.

Options for answering the questions are qualitative. For example, is the volume of current demand strong, normal, or weak? Does the company responding expect that total employment will increase, be stable, or decrease?

Like the Annual Survey of Services (PAS) by the Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), this survey covers all services sectors except government, health, some teaching activities, finance, and commerce (see below for a complete list of what is covered). The results are published for the services sector as a whole and for 12 of its segments (except for the Survey of Services in Pernambuco state, which covers only five segments). Industry segments are defined according to the National Classification of Economic Activities, version 1.0 (NCEA 1.0) of the IBGE.