Rio, July 18, 2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - Wages received by Brazilian industrial workers fell 7% in May, compared with the same period last year, as a result of the effects of inflation on workers' earnings in this sector of the economy.

In comparison with April, the decline amounted to 1.2%. These data appear in the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics' (IBGE) Monthly Industrial Survey of Jobs and Salaries.

According to the Institute, the real value of industrial workers' payrolls also suffered declines in this year's cumulative total (-6.9%) and the cumulative total for the past 12 months (-4.3%). The overall result was a consequence of negative trends in 16 branches. The biggest negative impact occurred in the paper and printing sector (-16.8%), while the biggest positive impact came from petroleum refining and alcohol production (3.1%).

The IBGE also informed that 13 of the 14 areas included in the survey showed negative payroll results. São Paulo (-8.8%) and the Southeast region as a whole (-8.7%) stood out on the downside. The only areas where results were positive were the North and Center-West (2.2%).

When it comes to the total number of hours paid for industrial labor, the study shows that there was a drop of 0.4% from April to May. Compared with May, 2002, the fall amounted to 1%, and, according to the IBGE, the biggest negative pressure came from the sector of sundry manufactured goods (-10.8%), following by non-metallic minerals (-6.6%) and textiles (-4.9%). (DAS)