Rio, September 23, 2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - Commerce and public administration were the sectors that employed the greatest number of people in Brazil in 2001. In commerce, in which there is a heavy concentration of small firms, representing 49.6% of all firms listed on the National Register of Legal Entities (CNPJ), 7.4 million people were employed, almost a quarter of the total working population during the period, for which they were paid R$ 26.6 billion in salaries and other forms of remuneration. These data come from the Central Register of Enterprises 2001, released on Monday (22) by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE).

The second most important activity, direct and indirect public administration, employed 6.2 million people and paid nearly R$ 74 billion in salaries and other forms of remuneration. (DAS)