Productivity in Brazilian industry down 4.6% in 2021 – CNI

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Labor productivity in industry decreased by 4.6% in 2021 compared to 2020, considering the series excluding seasonal effects. The information comes from the National Confederation of Industry’s (CNI) “Productivity in Industry” study.

According to the study, this was the sharpest annual decline in the indicator in the historical series that began in 2000, surpassing the loss in 2008 (-2.2%), the year of the global financial crisis.

It was the second consecutive year of decline in the indicator, which measures the ratio between the volume produced and the hours worked in production.

In 2021, the federal government added, the volume of production increased by 4.3%, and the number of hours worked in production increased by 9.3%; that is, production grew less.

According to CNI, the decline in productivity faced the impact of the second wave of Covid-19 and the difficulties in resuming investment and production.

Another factor that contributed to the decline last year was the change in the labor market composition. “The informal sector registered greater growth than the formal sector, indicating the advance of occupations with less education and lower productivity,” Samantha Cunha, head of industrial policy at CNI, said in a statement.

CNI says that growth is expected to be low in the short term, at levels similar to those before the healthcare crisis. In 2018 and 2019, productivity in the industry was below 1%.

“In the long term, with the possibilities of Industry 4.0 technologies and the development of 5G, there can be a sustainable increase in productivity if investments are made in innovation.”