MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brazil unemployment up for eighth month running; double December's rate

The unemployment rate has been pushed up by hundreds of thousands of layoffs in manufacturing and service sectors as Brazil's economy heads into recession.

Brazil's unemployment rate rose for an eighth straight month in August to the highest in over five years, although the increase was slightly smaller than markets expected. The non-seasonally adjusted jobless rate rose in August to 7.6%, from 7.5% in July, statistics agency IBGE said.

 Rising unemployment has dragged consumer confidence down to record lows, in a vicious cycle that has hampered demand and worsened both Brazil's recession and the government's budget crisis. Consumer confidence fell to 76.3 in September from 80.6 in August, according to a private survey released this week.

The unemployment rate has nearly doubled from a record low of 4.3% in December, pushed up by hundreds of thousands of layoffs in the manufacturing and service sectors as Brazil's economy heads into a deep and probably long recession.

The number of Brazilians with jobs in the six major metropolitan areas surveyed by IBGE fell 1.8% from August 2014 to 22.7 million. The tally of people who unsuccessfully looked for work jumped 52% from the same month a year earlier to 1.9 million.

Wages increased in August, though not by enough to offset the losses caused by steadily rising inflation, currently at 9.57% on a trailing 12-month basis. Salaries discounted for inflation gained 0.5% from July to 2,185.50 Reais ($520.39). They fell 3.5% from August 2014. Brazil's economy is expected to shrink 2.7% this year, according to the central bank.