São Paulo – This Thursday (12th), the Federation of Industries of the State of São Paulo (Fiesp) estimated that the sector should grow by 1.5% to 2% in 2012, and jobs should grow by up to 1%. The organization also forecasts a 3% increase in the state’s Gross Domestic Product (PIB), provided that the world economic crisis does not worsen.
“We are going to go from a melancholy performance to a mediocre one,” said the director of Fiesp’s Department of Economic Research and Studies (Depecon), Paulo Francini. However, he said the latest tax incentives for white goods, the raised minimum wage and the depreciation of the real (Brazilian currency) in late 2011 have not been considered in the forecasts yet. “[The depreciation of the real] translates into increased competitiveness for Brazilian products, and this effect has not been factored in yet,” he said.
The Fiesp announced that the level of employment in the São Paulo state industry dropped by 1.36% in December, as the number of jobs declined by 35,500 compared with the preceding month. Still, after seasonal adjustments, the index increased by 1.72% compared with November.
In 2011, the employment level dropped by 0.01%, as a result of 500 less jobs in the industry. In 2010, the employment level rose by 4.72% and, in 2009, there was a decline of 4.5%. “We have gone back to results typical of a year of crisis, no jobs were created in the industry in 2011,” said Francini.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
