Rio de Janeiro – The average unemployment rate in Brazil in 2010 was 6.7%, the lowest in the historic series tallied by the Brazilian Institute for Geography and Statistics (IBGE) since 2002. According to the organisation, the number of people unemployed was 1.6 million, on average, throughout last year.
In 2009, the rate was 8.1%. The figure was disclosed on Thursday (27) by the IBGE. The number of employed people totalled 22 million, 3.5% more than in 2009.
The number of people employed officially by the private sector also reached a record figure last year. There were, on average, 10.2 million people employed throughout 2010, that is 46.3% of the total of people working. In 2009, the proportion was 44.7%.
The real average income of workers in 2010 was the lowest since 2003: 1,490.61 Brazilian reals (approximately US$ 890). The growth was 3.8% over 2009 and 19% over 2003.
Taking into consideration the month of December 2010 alone, the rate of unemployment was 5.3%, with a total of 1.3 million people unemployed. Average revenues reached R$ 1,515.10 (approximately US$ 906).
*Translated by Mark Ament
