Cristiane Ribeiro
Reporter - Agência Brasil

Rio - The level of ndustrial employment in Brazil was stable in July, compared with June. This stability follows a 0.6% decrease in the number of jobs in the sector between May and June, as announced today (16) by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE).

In the comparison with July, 2004, the number of new hires exceeded the number of dismissals by 1.1%, with nine of the 14 areas surveyed registering positive results. The food and beverage and metal products sectors in the states of São Paulo (3.2%) and Minas Gerais (3.6%) were the ones that hired the most.

Between January and July, industrial employment grew 2.1%, and, once again, the food and beverage sector in São Paulo and Minas Gerais was responsible for the largest number of new jobs (7.3%). In the overall index for the year, only two of the 14 areas surveyed registered a larger number of dismissals than of new hires: Rio Grande do Sul (-4.5%) and Rio de Janeiro (-1.1%).

Industrial workers' payrolls fell 0.1% in July in relation to June, but in comparison with July, 2004, they were 3.1% higher.

Translation: David Silberstein