BRASILIA (Reuters) -Brazil’s economy created a net 71,576 formal jobs in March, Labor Ministry data showed on Wednesday, below the 200,000 jobs forecast in a Reuters poll of economists.
The figure accounts for 2,234,662 jobs opened and 2,163,086 closed in the period, according to the ministry.
It was the weakest figure for March since 2020, and for any month since last December. It compares with over 245,000 net formal jobs created in the same period of 2024, adjusted data showed.
Earlier in the day, before the data was released, Labor Minister Luiz Marinho told state media that formal job creation in March had been weaker year-on-year.
He noted that hiring was affected by a lower number of business days, particularly because this year’s Carnival holiday fell in March, while last year it occurred in February.
From January to March, a net 654,503 jobs were created in Brazil, down from 725,973 in the year-earlier period, according to adjusted data.
(Reporting by Victor Borges in Brasilia; Writing by Andre Romani, Editing by Franklin Paul and Gabriel Araujo)
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