Unemployment in Brazil dropped to the lowest level in 11 months, data showed on Friday, as manufacturers and service companies hired more people in response to a brisk recovery in Latin America's largest economy. The jobless rate dipped to 7.4 percent in November from 7.5 percent in October, matching the median forecast of 22 economists surveyed by Reuters. The estimates ranged from 7.1 percent to 8.1 percent.
The unemployment rate was the lowest ever for the month of November in the data series, which started in 2002, and the smallest since December 2008, statistics agency IBGE said on Friday. The number of Brazilians with jobs edged 0.5 percent higher month-on-month to 21.603 million people and was up 0.7 percent from November 2008. The tally of people who went unsuccessfully looking for work dropped 2.2 percent in November from October to 1.714 million. The figure fell 2.6 percent from a year earlier.