SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Brazil’s jobless rate remained at its lowest level in a decade in the three months through June, data from statistics agency IBGE showed on Wednesday, as the number of employed people in Latin America’s largest economy hit a new all-time high.
The unemployment rate in Brazil stood at 6.9% in the April-June period, IBGE said, in line with market expectations and down from 7.9% in the previous quarter, marking the lowest for the period since 2014.
Brazil’s jobless rate has been hovering around historically low levels for the past year despite elevated interest rates, an indicator cheered by the government even though some worry it could trigger inflationary pressures.
According to IBGE, the number of jobless people in Brazil was 7.5 million in the period, down 12.5% quarter-on-quarter, while employed citizens totaled 101.8 million – the highest ever for the data series started in 2012.
Average real wages were up 1.8% in the quarter to 3,214 reais ($571.70), the statistics agency said.
($1 = 5.6218 reais)
(Reporting by Gabriel Araujo; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
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