Brasília - In July 202,000 jobs were created on the formal job market - that is, legal, on-the-books jobs - an increase of 0.8% over June, reports the Ministry of Labor.

According to minister of Labor, Ricardo Berzoini, the government is optimistic about formal jobs. "We have already reached our goal of creating 1.3 million jobs. Now our target is to reach 1.8 million new jobs by the end of the year," he says.

The highlights of job creation in July were in manufacturing (56,000 jobs) and agriculture (55,000). According to the ministry's monthly employment report, even the construction sector created 10,000 jobs in July, following a net loss of jobs for 2003. Many of the jobs are being created outside the country's major urban centers.

With regard to wages, Berzoini declared that the government does not have goals for wages at the moment because the priority now is to create jobs.

Agência Brasil
Reporter: Nasi Brum
Translator: Allen Bennett
08/20/2004