Brasília – The use of installed capacity in industry (UIC) was 80.1% in June, as against 80.6% in May. The figures were released this Tuesday (5th) by the National Confederation of Industry (CNI, in the Portuguese acronym). According to CNI economist Fábio Guerra, the UIC rate in June was the lowest since April 2009, shortly after the beginning of the international financial crisis.
Actual industry revenues were down 5.7% and hours worked in production were down 3% in June from May, as per non-seasonally adjusted results.
To the CNI, “June saw the fourth consecutive decline in industry output, as the downward trend became more pronounced.” CNI economist Flávio Castelo Branco believes economic uncertainty, partly due to rising interest rates, has caused investment to decrease.
Employment was down 0.5% and total wages paid were down 0.8%. These two indicators have declined for the fourth straight month, a trend the CNI ascribes to low level of activity, and is beginning to impact the labour market. The Confederation believes the World Cup has played a significant role in this, causing the scenario to worsen due to interruptions in labour and lower retail activity.
In H1 this year, actual industry revenues were down 1% and hours worked in production were down 2.2% from H1 last year. H1-on-H1, employment was up 0.9% and total wages paid were up 3.8%.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
