Unemployment in Brazil edged lower in October to near the lowest level on record, helped by increased hiring in the construction and services sectors, government data showed on Wednesday. The jobless rate fell to 7.5 percent last month from 7.6 percent in September, statistics agency IBGE said, the lowest rate since a record low of 7.4 percent in December 2007. The new unemployment series started in 2002.
The unemployment rate matched the 7.5 percent median forecast of 17 economists surveyed by Reuters. The forecasts ranged from 7.3 percent to 7.8 percent. The number of people working in the six metropolitan regions surveyed edged up 0.8 percent in October from the previous month to 22.2 million. It was up 4 percent from October 2007.
The number of people who could not find jobs held steady in October from September at 1.8 million. However, that marked an 11.8 percent drop from October 2007. Average real wages, or earnings discounted for inflation, dropped 1.3 percent month-on-month to 1,258.20 reais ($541.16). Compared to a year ago, wages rose 4.5 percent in October.
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