Business receipts down 1.1% in Q1

The recreation and personal services industry led the fall amongst sectors.

Overall business receipts of the services industries (excluding wholesale and retail trade and accommodation and food services) dipped 1.1% YoY in Q1 as receipts of recreation and personal services posted a double-digit decline, according to data from the Department of Statistics (SingStat).

The recreation and personal services industry led the fall amongst sectors as it dropped 24.1% in revenue over the same period, due mainly to firms in the attractions segment. Similarly, business receipts of the transport and storage services industry slipped 4.7% YoY. In particular, the air transport segment’s revenue slid as it continues to take a hit from global travel restrictions.

On the other hand, revenue from education services and financial and insurance services climbed 5.7% and 3.7% YoY, respectively. The information and communications services industry also inched up 2.8% YoY in Q1, due mainly to firms engaged in computer programming and consultancy services as well as web hosting and web portal services.

In addition, overall business receipts fell 5.9% QoQ in Q1 compared to Q4 2019. This was dragged by all industries, except for those in financial and insurance services and education services.

Specifically, both the recreation and personal services and transport and storage industries registered double-digit declines of 23% and 15.3% QoQ, respectively, as they faced lower demand. Business services dipped 9.2% QoQ in revenue, attributed mainly to professional services firms such as those providing legal, business and management consultancy, architectural and engineering services.

In contrast, the education services and financial and insurance services industries rose 6.4% and 2.7% QoQ, respectively.