Brazil | Unemployment rate higher but a record low for the month

Brazil’s jobless rate rose slightly more than expected in March but still marked a record low for the month, adding evidence that the local labor market remains strong to underpin a nascent economic recovery.

Brazilian unemployment rate rose to 6.2 percent in March before seasonal adjustments, from a previously reported 5.7 percent in February, the government’s statistics agency IBGE said on Thursday.

The unemployment rate had been expected to rise to 6.0 percent, according to the median forecast of 19 economists surveyed by Reuters. The estimates ranged from 5.8 percent to 6.1 percent.

It was the lowest rate for the month since unemployment data series began in 2002.

In March 2011, unemployment stood at 6.5 percent.

Brazil’s robust labor market helped prevent the country from a recession in late 2011, fueling steady growth in the services sector. It also nurtured Brazil’s rising urban middle-class, a key pillar to president Dilma Rousseff’s stellar popularity.

Many young Brazilians who once would have become housekeepers making minimum wage now get better-paid jobs at shops and other businesses in cities like São Paulo.

However, the tight labor market is also fueling inflation…

Source:

Read More @ UPDATE 1-Brazil jobless rate rises unexpectedly in March | Reuters.