MADRID, 20 May. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The services sector increased its turnover by 18.2% in March compared to the same month in 2021, moderating the rise registered the previous month (23.5%) by more than five points, as reported this Friday by the National Institute of Statistics ( INE).

With the advance of March, services chain 13 consecutive months of year-on-year increases after a year of falls as a result of the pandemic.

Within services, hospitality (accommodation services and food and beverage services) was the sector that increased its sales the most in March, 85.4% compared to the same month in 2021.

Specifically, accommodation services multiplied their sales in March by more than four in the interannual rate (326.8%), while food and beverage services invoiced 50.9% more. These rates have moderated compared to those registered in previous months.

Along with these activities, but already outside the hotel industry, the increase in sales of travel agencies and tour operators also stands out, which multiplied by more than five (422.4%), and air transport, which multiplied them for more than two (161.4%).

In monthly terms and in data adjusted for seasonality and calendar, the services sector recorded a monthly decline in sales of 3.3% in March, in contrast to the 5.9% increase experienced in February.

For the twelfth consecutive month and after more than a year of falls, employment in the services sector grew in March, and did so at a year-on-year rate of 4.8%, four tenths more than in February.

The Balearic Islands was the community that most increased job creation in the services sector last March, with an interannual increase of 16.3%, and the Canary Islands was the region that increased sales the most, 49.7% in interannual rate , followed precisely by the Balearic Islands, with an increase of 39.6%.