Employment grows in the rhythm of the GDP and supports the countrys expansion, says Iedi
O Estado de S. Paulo - 01/14/2008
The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and the formal employment - the one abiding by the labor law - grew practically in the same rhythm in 2007, points out a study of the Institute of Studies for the Industrial Development (Iedi - Instituto de Estudos para o Desenvolvimento Industrial). While the GDP, the sum of all wealth created in the Country, must have grown 5.2% last year, according to the Iedi's estimate, formal employment grew 5.1% until November, compared to the same period of 2006, according to the Monthly Employment Survey (PME - Pesquisa Mensal do Emprego) of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) in the Country's six metropolitan areas. The convergence between the employment indicator and the generation of wealth is a cumulative process, affirms the economist. He believes that last year's convergence between the GDP and the formal employment consolidates that tendency. Projections of the LCA Consultores based on the data of the General Record of Employees and Unemployed People (Caged) of the Labor Ministry indicate that nearly 1.7 million formal jobs were created last year. According to the figures from Iedi, the formal employment represents 45% of the total employment, which also includes the informal ones. For this year, the perspective is that the GDP's and the formal employment's growth rhythms should keep that convergence, foresees the consultant. However, he remarks that the situation may change if the Central Bank (BC) opts to increase the base interest rate to contain the inflationary pressures. With that there may be a reversion in the expectations, he says. In Gomes de Almeida's evaluation, the fact that the GDP and the formal employment are in the same rhythm reflects that the growth is sustainable.