The Covid-19 health-turned-economic crisis has upended almost every sector, especially the services industry which was affected by the disrupted operations during the circuit breaker measures.
Takings for the sector plunged 13.9% year-on-year in 2Q2020 ended June, according to the Business Services Index released by the Department of Statistics (Singstat) on August 27.
Meanwhile, the quarterly index came in 13.3% lower, as the circuit breaker and eventually phase one of Singapore’s re-opening spanned most of the quarter.
The metric registers the short-term changes in the amount of business or operating receipts for the services sector. It strips out receipts from wholesale and retail trade, accommodation and food services.
Registering a 74.3% plummet, recreational and personal services logged the highest decline due to the closure of attractions and gaming segments during the circuit breaker period.
Likewise, the travel restrictions during the period resulted in a 23.3% decline in the takings from transport and storage services.
Declines were also seen in business services (-21.5%) and health and social services (-13.1%) which were affected by the postponement of non-urgent elective surgeries during the quarter.
The financial and insurance services sector meanwhile bucked the trend with a 0.4% expansion in takings.
