Brazil jobless rate falls in September to 2004 low
Brazil's unemployment rate fell in September to a 2004 low of 10.9 percent, down from 11.4 percent in August, as jobs were created at a rapid pace amid an economic rebound, official figures showed on Friday.
September's fall in unemployment surprised economists by its magnitude. Five economists surveyed by Reuters on average had forecast unemployment would ease to 11.2 percent.
"The general trend of declining unemployment continues and wages are growing, which is a good sign," said Fabio Akira, chief economist at J.P. Morgan in Sao Paulo.
Unemployment has been on a broadly declining path since hitting a 2-1/2-year high in April of 13.1 percent. The economy of Brazil, South America's largest, is widely expected to grow more than 4 percent this year after shrinking 0.2 percent in 2003.
September's unemployment rate, gauged by the government's Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), was the lowest since December's 10.9 percent, which benefited from holiday-related seasonal job creation.
The IBGE noted the rolls of the unemployed, defined as those people looking for work, fell slightly to 2.4 million in September, a decline of 3.7 percent from August.
In the latest month, the average wage, discounted for inflation, rose 1.7 percent from August to 910.10 reais ($319), and 3.2 percent from September a year ago.
Nonetheless, economists say total purchasing power in Brazil remains weak after several years of modest inflation combined with slow growth.
The average wage is still 11.9 percent below its level in September 2002. Improving wages would boost chances that Brazil's current economic rebound can be sustained.($1=2.85 reais).
(From Reuters, October 22, 2004)
___________