By Ben Tavener, Senior Contributing Reporter
SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL – Brazil’s industry sector grew 2.5 percent in November 2012 as compared to the previous month, according to a survey released by the Brazilian National Confederation of Industry (CNI). The news is particularly welcome, given that activity in the previous two months had been in negative territory.
Analysts from the CNI say that this “robust” growth should give cause for optimism for a positive outlook regarding overall 2012 figures; they say the news represents evidence of a “steady recovery” for Brazilian industry.
The best results came from the clothing industry, which saw an increase of 6.2 percent, employing 11.3 percent more people.
However, the electronics and communications sectors ended November with the worst performance figures, suffering a 23.5 percent drop in production and an eleven-percent drop in new employment throughout the sector.
Although the figures have been warmly welcomed by many, Flávio Castelo Branco, the CNI’s economic policy executive manager, told the Agência Brasil news agency that the upturn in industrial activity, along with steady wage levels, could mean more pressure for business costs.
Despite the fact that the Brazilian economy barely grew in 2012, now thought to be around only one percent in terms of GDP (gross domestic product) growth, the outlook is said to be brighter for 2013: the government believes that growth of four percent or more is possible this year, although most market forecasters are less optimistic and generally predict growth of three to 3.5 percent.
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