Rio, February 27, 2004 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - The unemployment rate in January rose to 11.7%, after standing at 10.9% in December, 2003. The increase, however, is seasonal, since January is a month when temporary workers hired in December, especially in commerce, are dismissed. In comparison with January, 2003, when the unemployment rate was 11.2%, unemployment remained stable.

"The increase in unemployment between the last month of one year and the first month of the next is historically familiar, as a result of the dismissal of workers hired temporarily in the months of November and December," argued Cimar Azeredo, coordinator of the Monthly Employment Survey, released today by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE).

According to Azeredo, the rates are expected to fall in the following months and then rise again after April and May, when many workers are hired temporarily for Easter and Mothers' Day. (DAS)