Brazil exceeds forecasts with more than 277,000 new formal jobs created in May

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Led by the services sector, which has recovered from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic and created 120,294 new jobs alone, new jobs are being created in all sectors.

Brazil added a net 277,018 formal jobs in May, according to figures released by the Labor Ministry on Tuesday, above market expectations.

Economists polled by Reuters had predicted the creation of 192,750 jobs per month.

According to the ministry, the average monthly wage for newly created jobs rose 0.94 percent in May from April to 1,898 reais (US$363.59).

Led by the services sector, which has recovered from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic and created 120,294 new jobs alone, new jobs are being created in all sectors.

In the five months through May, the data showed that 1.052 million jobs were created, a slight decline from the positive balance of 1.161 million in the same period last year.

The total number of officially registered workers in Brazil rose 0.67% in May from the previous month to 41.7 million.

These figures do not include the nearly 40 million undocumented workers who do not have formal work registration.