In May, a total of 212,450 jobs in Brazil’s formal market were created, reports the Ministry of Labor. That was down from 266,095 in April, showing that there has been a downturn in production and job creation.
Compared to May 2004, when 291,822 jobs were created, the best monthly job growth since the ministry began keeping records, the drop was even more significant.
However, in spite of the numbers Minister of Labor, Ricardo Berzoini, says he does not see a decline in business activity.
“Actually the numbers are very positive. The job market has expanded by more than 6% over the last twelve months, which is more than GDP growth,” he explained.
Berzoini pointed out that only the lumber, furniture and footwear sectors were weak, probably because of the devaluation of the dollar (which hurt exports), while the rest of the industrial sector continued to maintain high levels of employment.
Abr