Brasília – The first 2012 edition of the quarterly survey Thermometers of Brazilian Society (Termômetros da Sociedade Brasileira), issued this Wednesday (28th) by the National Confederation of Industries (CNI, in the Portuguese acronym) shows Brazilians boast a high level of satisfaction with their current lives, even though there has been a 0.5% drop in March compared with December – 104.8 this month as against 105.3 in the last month of 2011, whereas the survey baseline is 100.
The survey also includes the Fear of Unemployment index, which stood at 73.5 in March, 3.9% lower than in December. This means Brazilians are more optimistic regarding maintaining their positions. The indicator was only 2.6% above the lowest ever score, recorded in September 2011. The lowest the index, whose baseline is also 100, the lesser the fear Brazilians have of unemployment.
According to the CNI, the survey’s figures indicate that the world economic crisis has not gotten to the population yet, even though the country’s industry has been affected. This is so because despite the lowered rate of growth of economic activity, job creation continues to grow, as do income and credit, causing consumption to go up. Another factor is the growth of the middle class, which also drives domestic demand up, according to the authors of the survey.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
