Real increase of the minimum salary injects US$ 9.1 billion in the economy and reduces the effects o
Folha de S. Paulo 02/16/2009
Readjusted by 6.4% in real terms this month, the new minimum salary of R$ 465 (US$ 202) will inject R$ 21 billion (US$ 9.1 billion) in the economy, according to the calculations of the Ministry of Labor and it will be an important instrument of anticyclic politics in these times of crisis, according to specialists. Some say it will allow the maintenance of some dynamism in sectors that depend on the income increase, like the food sector. Even before the total increase of 12.05% of the minimum salary, the performance of the sectors related to income was already different from the others. From October to December, the general industry registered an unprecedented fall, if compared to previous crises, of 19.8%. But, for the food sector, there was a mild fall - 0.7%, the lowest of the sectors. The only sectors to register an increase were beverages (0.2%), which also depends upon the income, and other automotive vehicles (20.1%), because of the production of airplanes ordered before the crisis, against a 54% fall in the production of vehicles, according to the IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics). IBGE's Isabella Nunes said the sectors related to income already had somewhat better results in the last three months of 2008 - when the industry progressively felt the strong impact of the crisis. According to Nunes, any stability of the labor market and the effect of the readjustment of the minimum salary will play an important role in the definition of the path the economy will take this year.