Aécio Amado
Reporter - Agência Brasil

Rio - Brazil's industrial employment level declined 0.6% in November, 2005, in comparison with October, when there was a 0.2% decrease. Compared with November, 2004, the employment level was down 0.9%. For 2005 as a whole, through November, employment rose 1.2%. These data are drawn from the industrial employment survey released yesterday (17) by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE).

The coordinator of the study, Fernanda Vilhena, believes that November's results indicate a degree of stability in the employment level, when the 1.3% growth in the number of hours remunerated in November is also taken into account.

The shoe/leather goods and wood sectors were among the weakest in November's employment figures, with declines of 12.8% and 16%, respectively. The food and beverage sector was responsible for the biggest increase, with a 5.4% expansion in the number of new workers hired.

Translation: David Silberstein