Services - 1. quarter of 2026

“Sales in services increased by 1.9%, year-on-year, in the first quarter of 2026. None of the CZ-NACE sections of services reported a decrease and the highest contribution to the growth was recorded in professional, scientific and technical activities with a year-on-year increase in sales by 5.1%,” Tomáš Harák, Head of the Trade, Services, and Environmental Statistics Data Support Unit of the Czech Statistical Office (CZSO), says.

Quarter-on-quarter, seasonally adjusted sales in services¹⁾ increased in real terms by 0.6%, in the Q1. All industries of services recorded a sales growth.

In the year-on-year comparison, sales adjusted for calendar effects increased by 1.9%. All CZ-NACE sections of services contributed to the increase of sales. However, the highest contribution came from the section of professional, scientific and technical activities, in which sales increased by 5.1%.

• Sales in transportation and storage increased by 0.4%. The growth was contributed to by air transport (an increase by 1.8%) and land transport and transport via pipelines, which is the most significant in terms of its volume (an increase by 1.4%). On the other hand, lower sales were recorded by warehousing and support activities for transportation (by 0.6%), postal and courier activities (by 2.1%), and water transport (by 10.1%).  
• Sales in accommodation and food service activities increased by 1.6%. Sales in food and beverage service activities increased by 2.1% and in accommodation they decreased by 0.6%.
• Sales in information and communication increased by 1.6%. The highest year-on-year growth was achieved by music and motion picture activities (by 20.1%). Higher sales (by 2.8%) were reported by computer programming, consultancy and related activities, which include, for example, computer programming activities, computer facilities management activities, and computer consultancy activities. Sales also increased in telecommunications (by 2.4%). On the other hand, sales decreased in programming and broadcasting activities (by 1.1%), in information service activities (by 2.7%), and in publishing activities (by 6.7%).
• Sales in real estate activities increased by 0.4%, y-o-y.
• In professional, scientific and technical activities²⁾ sales increased by 5.1%. The highest contribution to the growth of the section as a whole came from activities of head offices; management consultancy activities, in which sales increased by 8.7%. Legal and accounting activities had also higher sales, year-on-year (by 6.7%) as well as other professional, scientific and technical activities (by 6.6%) and architectural and engineering activities; technical testing and analysis (by 3.6%). Therefore, the slowest growing economic activity in this section was advertising and market research, in which sales increased by 1.6%.
• In administrative and support service activities, sales increased by 1.6%. The overall development of the section was influenced the most by the economic activity of office administrative, office support and other business support activities, in which sales increased by 5.0%. A year-on-year growth was also reported by rental and leasing activities (by 3.1%), services to buildings and landscape activities (by 1.6%), and travel agency, tour operator and other reservation service and related activities (by 1.0%). On the other hand, sales decreased in real terms in security and investigation activities (by 2.6%) and in employment activities (by 2.2%).

¹⁾ For the purposes of the news release, services include the following CZ-NACE sections: Transportation and storage (H), Accommodation and food service activities (I), Information and communication (J), Real estate activities (L), Professional, scientific and technical activities – excluding Scientific research and development and Veterinary activities (M excluding 72 and 75), and Administrative and support service activities (N).
²⁾ For the purposes of the news release, section M – Professional, scientific and technical activities does not include CZ-NACE 72 – Scientific research and development and CZ-NACE 75 – Veterinary activities.