SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Brazil’s jobless rate fell to 6.4% in the three months through September, statistics agency IBGE said on Thursday, below market expectations and marking the second-lowest unemployment level on record.
The jobless rate was down from 6.9% in the April-June period and 7.7% a year earlier, according to IBGE. Economists polled by Reuters had projected an unemployment rate of 6.5% in the period.
The number of jobless people in Brazil was 7.0 million in the July-September period, down 7.2% quarter-on-quarter. Employed citizens totaled 103 million, up 1.2% on a sequential basis and the highest ever for the data series.
Average real wages were at 3,227 reais ($559.29) in the period, the statistics agency said.
Brazil’s jobless rate has been hovering around historically low levels for the past year, an indicator touted by the government, despite fears that the country’s tight labour market could trigger inflationary pressures.
The central bank last month hiked its benchmark interest rate for the first time in over two years, delivering a 25 basis point increase to 10.75% amid stronger-than-expected economic activity and labor market pressures.
($1 = 5.7698 reais)
(Reporting by Luana Maria Benedito; Editing by Toby Chopra)
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