By Marcela Ayres
BRASILIA – Employment in Brazil fell 13.9% in November from the same month last year, official adjusted figures showed on Thursday, with the country adding a net 324,112 formal jobs.
Still, the performance marked an 11th month of gains, bringing the number of formal jobs created so far this year to 2.993 million, the highest for the period in a historical series that began in 2010.
The increase was led by the services sector, which created 180,960 formal jobs in November. Four of five sectors covered by the Labor Ministry showed net job growth in the month, with the exception of farming, which lost 16,797 jobs.
Figures do not include nearly 40 million undocumented workers, who do not have formal employment registration.
According to the ministry, the total number of formally registered workers in Brazil was up 0.79% from the previous month, to 41.552 million.
Earnings, however, slowed down, with the average monthly salary of new jobs created in November down 1.75% from October to 1,779 reais ($314.52).
($1 = 5.6562 reais)
(Reporting by Marcela Ayres; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and Bernadette Baum)
