The FINANCIAL — Brazil’s benchmark unemployment rate rose for a fifth consecutive month in May, as the country’s sluggish economic performance contaminates the labor market, according to Nasdaq.
Joblessness in six major metropolitan areas increased to 6.7% last month, compared with 6.4% in April and 4.9% in May 2014, the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, or IBGE, said on June 25.
Salaries also declined in real terms, to an average 2,117 Brazilian reais ($683) a month. That was down 1.9% from April and 5% from May 2014, the IBGE said.
After expanding 0.1% last year, Brazil’s economy is expected to contract by 1.45% this year, further damaging the job market, according to economists.
