Brazil’s employment figures for January have just been released and Brazilians once again seem to have reason to celebrate. One of the bright spots in the Brazilian economy during the international financial crisis of 2009 was the employment picture where there was no spike in unemployment and, most important, employment remained stable).
As can be seen from the latest numbers, that is still true. Brazilian unemployment rose very slightly, 0.4 percentage points, in January, compared to December 2009, reaching 7.2%, according to the government statistical bureau (IBGE). However, compared to January 2009, unemployment is down one percentage point, dropping from 8.2%.
The IBGE reports that the number of unoccupied people rose 6%, up 1.7 million, between December and January.
The occupied population was 21.6 million, up 2.1% compared to January 2009.
The number of registered, on-the-books workers was up 3.5%, compared to January 2009, an increase of 333,000 workers.
Average take home pay (1,373.50 reais) was up 1.1%, compared to December 2009, but down 0.4%, compared to January 2009 (when it was 1,378.74 reais).
Bank of Brazil
The Bank of Brazil registered net profit of 10.15 billion Brazilian reais (US$ 5.6 billion) in 2009, growth of 15.3% over the result for 2008. The figures were disclosed in the city of São Paulo by the organization’s president, Aldemir Bendine.
The bank’s financial reserves totaled 65.3 billion reais (US$ 35.7 billion) in 2009, 11.9% over the total in the previous year. Of this total, 41.7 billion reais (US$ 22.8 billion) came from credit operations, growth of 21% over the 2008 result (R$ 34.5 billion – US$ 18.9 billion).
Machinery
The Brazilian machinery and equipment industry plans to invest 8.9 billion Brazilian reais (US$ 4.9 billion) this year, which represents growth of 20% over last year. This according to the Brazilian Machinery Manufacturers Association (Abimaq).
Last year, the sector invested 7.43 billion reais (US$ 4 billion). In January this year, there was 26.1% reduction in nominal sector revenues when compared to the same period in 2009.
