Rio, April 15, 2004 (Agência Brasil) - Industrial job offers rose 0.3% in February, compared with January, 2004, but there was a 0.9% drop in relation to February, 2003. The index was also negative for the year so far (-1.2%) and for the past 12 months (-1.0%).

These data, released today by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), reveal that in the February 2004/February 2003 comparison, the 0.9% decline in job offers was the result of unfavorable results in nine of the 14 areas and ten of the 18 activities covered by the study.

According to the Monthly Industrial Survey of Jobs and Salaries, the worst performance was turned in by the industries of São Paulo, where the number of workers fell 1.8%. The overall national outcome was chiefly affected by pressures from the sectors of clothing (-11.8%), paper and printing (-6.4%), and textiles (-6.1%).

The IBGE study also shows that in the first two months of 2004 firings outnumbered hirings in ten areas, among which São Paulo (-1.9%) and Rio Grande do Sul (-4.1%) exerted the major negative influences.

In February, 2004, industrial payrolls presented positive results when compared with February, 2003 (10.1%) and so far this year (8.4%), but over the past 12 months there has been a 2.0% decline.

Translator: David Silberstein