11. 05. 2026 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 t elecommunications (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 o ther 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 a dvertising 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 t ravel 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 e mployment 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.