Service activities continue lively rebound but remain far from Q1 2020 peak

During the first quarter of 2021, several service sectors recorded increased turnover, with accommodation and food service activites, transportation and storage, and real estate activities leading the way, although the levels are still below those reported in the first quarter of 2020, a period in which the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the local economy was still limited.

A news release published by the National Statistics Office (NSO) reveals that in the first three months of 2021 seasonally adjusted turnover for selected service activities increased by 11.2 per cent over the fourth quarter of 2020.

Increases in turnover were recorded in the accommodation and food service activities (23.4 per cent), transportation and storage (19.5 per cent), real estate activities (17.5 per cent), wholesale trade (15.6 per cent), professional, scientific and technical activities (15 per cent) and administrative and support service activities (4.4 per cent).

On the other hand, motor trade, information and communication activities and retail trade registered more limited negative changes in turnover of 0.7, 0.6 and 0.1 per cent respectively.

The seasonally adjusted employment and hours worked decreased by 0.4 and 1.6 per cent respectively, while seasonally adjusted gross wages and salaries increased by 2.6 per cent.

However, it should be noted that seasonally adjusted gross wages and salaries remain 6.6 per cent off their Q1 2020 peak.

Correspondingly, when compared to the same quarter of 2020, working-day adjusted turnover for these activities decreased by 9.1 per cent.

Decreases in turnover were registered in the accommodation and food service activities (49.5 per cent), administrative and support service activities (28.7 per cent), transportation and storage (15.0 per cent), wholesale trade (13.7 per cent), motor trade (7.5 per cent) and retail trade (4.9 per cent).

On the other hand, turnover increases of 13.3, 6.1 and 0.9 per cent were registered in the information and communication, real estate activities and professional, scientific and technical activities respectively.

Unadjusted employment, working-day adjusted gross wages and salaries, and hours worked decreased by 8.4, 6.6 and 10.5 per cent respectively over the same quarter in 2020.