The services sector grew by a seasonally adjusted 3.7% on the month, government statistics agency IBGE said, more than double the median estimate of 1.5% expansion in a Reuters poll of economists.
It was the ninth month of expansion, IBGE said, and the third largest since the series began in 2011. Services sector output in February was down a non-seasonally adjusted 2.0% from a year earlier.
February's 0.7% fall in industrial output was significantly weaker than the median estimate in a Reuters poll of economists for a 0.4% rise. The following chart shows that several months of slowing growth have finally turned into outright decline.
Statistics agency IBGE said the year-on-year rise was 0.4%, also well below the Reuters poll forecast of 1.5% growth.
The unemployment rate was down from 14.3% in the three months to October, statistics agency IBGE said, slipping further back from the record 14.6% in the three months to September.
The median forecast in a Reuters poll of economists was for an unemployment rate of 14.0%. It ended 2019 at 11.0%.
Activities such as restaurants, hotels, family services and transport ... are recovering, but the need for social distancing means the sector has not yet returned to pre-pandemic (levels).
Services account for around two-thirds of Brazilian economic activity.