Brazil May Fail to Create 80% of the Job Openings Originally Expected for 2018

07/17/2018 - 12h07

Though the net result of formal job openings in Brazil in 2018 may be positive, the rate at which such openings were created over the past three months has been much slower, strengthening the notion that the gradual improvement that had been taking place in the formal employment sector over the past year may be coming to a halt.

At the beginning of 2018, the rate at which jobs were created in the formal labor market suggested that 750,000 new jobs would be created this year.

Since March, however, formal job openings have been created at such a slow pace that, if the current trend persists, the labor market will have produced a net result of merely 220 thousand jobs by the end of 2018.

The number is considered minimal by economists - approximately 20% of the number of positions that had been predicted initially. In late 2017, it had been estimated that the country was in a position to create 1 million new positions.

These numbers can be found in a survey conducted by LCA Consultores, and are based on data contained in the General Register of Employed and Unemployed (Caged). The survey was exclusively conducted for the present article.

The bleak outlook in terms of job openings is closely linked to Brazil's slow economic recovery, creating a vicious circle that the country has not managed to break free from.

In December 2017, economic forecasts predicted that growth would reach 2.7% in 2018. Weekly follow-ups conducted by the Central Bank back in March predicted that economic growth could reach up to 3%.

Since then, projections concerning GDP (Gross Domestic Product) have fallen, putting the country's GDP at no more than 1.5% - which has a direct impact on the labor market.

Translated by THOMAS MATHEWSON

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