MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brazil set to grow 7.5% this year and 5.9% in 2011; inflation 5.1% and 5%

Unemployment also reached the lowest since 2002, according to official statistics

Brazil’s GDP may grow 7.5% this year, up from a previous estimate of 7%, the Finance Ministry said in a report published on its website Thursday. The ministry also raised its forecast for average growth between 2010 and 2014 to 5.9%, from 5.7%.

Consumer prices may rise 5.1% this year, the ministry said, raising its July forecast of 5%.

Brazil’s economy is growing at a “quite satisfactory” level after slowing in the second quarter, Mantega said. “The use of installed capacity fell and inventories rose,” Mantega said. “So there’s no inflationary pressure from the demand point of view.”

In related news formal unemployment in September dropped to a minimum of eight years while the average salary for workers reached its highest level since 2002. According to the Brazilian Geography and Statistics Institute, IBGE, unemployment in the main urban areas dropped to 6.2%, the lowest since March 2002, and 1.5 percentage points lower than a year ago.

The average workers’ salary now stands at 1.499 Real which is equivalent to 897 US dollars a month, the highest in the last five years.

IBGe defines unemployed those persons who four weeks before the poll had no job income and during that period looked unsuccessfully for employment.

It does not include either those who have seasonal jobs, are underemployed or those who gave up looking for a job.