RIO DE JANEIRO--Brazil's unemployment rate rose for a second-consecutive month in February as companies continued to trim payrolls of seasonal workers, but local wages advanced in an ominous sign for inflation.
Unemployment was 5.6% in February compared with 5.4% in January, the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, or IBGE, said Thursday.
The unemployment rate in February 2012 was 5.7%. February's unemployment rate was less than the 5.7% median estimate of economists polled by the local Estado news agency. The forecasts fell in a range between 5.5% and 5.8%.
Despite sluggish economic activity in Latin America's largest economy, Brazil's unemployment rate remains at historically low levels and below the rate economists consider neutral for inflation.
Brazil's tight labor markets have caused salaries to consistently trend higher, an important factor in price pressures that have become an area of concern for the Brazilian Central Bank so far in 2013.
Brazil's rolling 12-month inflation rate was 6.43% through mid-March, just below the 6.5% ceiling of the central bank's target range.
The average monthly Brazilian salary was 1,849.50 Brazilian reais ($923.13) in February, up 1.2% from January and up 2.4% from February 2012, the IBGE said. Wages have trended higher over the past year as employee groups called on Brazilian companies and the government to increase wages and benefits to counter higher local prices.
The IBGE measures unemployment in six of Brazil's largest metropolitan areas, including Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, Belo Horizonte, Recife and Porto Alegre.
Brazil's unemployment rate, however, is not fully comparable to jobless rates in developed countries as a large portion of the population is either underemployed or works informally without paying taxes.
In addition, workers not actively seeking a job in the month before the survey don't count as unemployed under the IBGE's methodology.
The survey also does not take into account farm workers. Brazil ended 2012 with a record-low average unemployment rate of 5.5%, down from 6.0% in 2011.
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Unemployment was 5.6% in February compared with 5.4% in January, the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, or IBGE, said Thursday.
The unemployment rate in February 2012 was 5.7%. February's unemployment rate was less than the 5.7% median estimate of economists polled by the local Estado news agency. The forecasts fell in a range between 5.5% and 5.8%.
Despite sluggish economic activity in Latin America's largest economy, Brazil's unemployment rate remains at historically low levels and below the rate economists consider neutral for inflation.
Brazil's tight labor markets have caused salaries to consistently trend higher, an important factor in price pressures that have become an area of concern for the Brazilian Central Bank so far in 2013.
Brazil's rolling 12-month inflation rate was 6.43% through mid-March, just below the 6.5% ceiling of the central bank's target range.
The average monthly Brazilian salary was 1,849.50 Brazilian reais ($923.13) in February, up 1.2% from January and up 2.4% from February 2012, the IBGE said. Wages have trended higher over the past year as employee groups called on Brazilian companies and the government to increase wages and benefits to counter higher local prices.
The IBGE measures unemployment in six of Brazil's largest metropolitan areas, including Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, Belo Horizonte, Recife and Porto Alegre.
Brazil's unemployment rate, however, is not fully comparable to jobless rates in developed countries as a large portion of the population is either underemployed or works informally without paying taxes.
In addition, workers not actively seeking a job in the month before the survey don't count as unemployed under the IBGE's methodology.
The survey also does not take into account farm workers. Brazil ended 2012 with a record-low average unemployment rate of 5.5%, down from 6.0% in 2011.
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