Brasília, November 20, 2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - Around 70 thousand new formal jobs were created in October. This is evidenced in the General Register of Employed and Unemployed(Caged), released today by the Ministry of Labor and Employment. The number of openings grew 0.31% in comparison with September, when 36 thousand new jobs were created.

The sector that grew the most in October was commerce (0.75%), followed by services (0.35%) and manufacturing (0.30%). Together, these segments accounted for over 85 thousand new job offerings. The exception was the agricultural sector, in which 20 thousand jobs (1.49%) were lost, due to seasonal factors.

Formal employment increased in all the great regions, most notably the South, in which 30,122 new jobs were added. In the states, the best results were registered in Rio Grande do Sul (12,819 new jobs), Rio de Janeiro (11,176), and Santa Catarina (10,295).

Since January, 910,547 new formal job positions have been created. Over the last 12 months, there has been a 2.88% increase, with the addition of 649,282 openings. (DAS)