Brazil’s Job Market Creates 131,811 Formal Jobs in May, Falling Short of ForecastsBrazil’s Job Market Creates 131,811 Formal Jobs in May, Falling Short of Forecasts Brazil’s economy added 131,811 net formal jobs in May, lower than the 200,000 expected by economists in a Reuters poll. The data released by the Labor Ministry on Thursday reflects a slowdown compared to the previous May, when 155,704 net jobs were created. The undersecretary of statistics at the ministry, Paula Montagner, attributed the lower number to historic flooding in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul. According to Montagner, if not for the flooding, net job creation would have been comparable to May 2023’s 155,704. The services sector accounted for the majority of the job growth, with 69,309 net formal hires. All economic segments tracked by the data reported positive job growth. From January to May, a total of 1,088,955 net jobs were created, an improvement over the 874,289 generated during the same period last year (seasonally adjusted data). Despite the slower pace of job creation in May, the demand for workers remains strong in various sectors in Brazil.
BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazil’s economy created 131,811 net formal jobs in May, Labor Ministry data released on Thursday showed, falling short of 200,000 forecasts in a Reuters poll of economists.
The figure represents 2,116,326 admissions and 1,984,515 jobs closed, and was the worst in May since 2020, when a net 398,294 jobs were lost during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Formal hiring numbers were affected by historic flooding in Brazil’s southernmost state of Rio Grande do Sul, said Paula Montagner, undersecretary of statistics at the ministry.
Without that, the net positions created would have been equal to the 155,704 of May 2023, she said.
All economic segments covered by the data showed job growth, led by the key services sector with 69,309 net formal hires.
A net 1,088,955 jobs were created from January to May, compared with 874,289 in the same period last year, seasonally adjusted data from the ministry showed.
