RIO DE JANEIRO, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- Brazil's unemployment rate
fell 28.7 percent during President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's
seven-year administration, according to a study released by the
Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE)
Thursday.
The unemployment rate averaged 8.1 percent last year, up from
7.9 percent in 2008. The increase is attributed to the impact of
the international financial crisis on the country's economy, which
lowered job growth in the first half of the year.
Despite the crisis, the unemployment rate in 2009 was lower than
the ones registered from 2003 to 2007.
During Lula's seven-year administration, employment increased 14
percent in the six metropolitan areas included in the IBGE's
monthly unemployment report. The number of women employed in these
places also increased during this period, jumping from 43 percent
to 45.1 percent of the workforce.
The study also shows that Brazilian workers have now more years
of schooling than seven years ago. In 2009, Brazilians with
high-school or above education (11 years of education) accounted
for 57.5 percent of the workforce, up from 46.7 percent in
2003.
The number of workers covered in the social security system also
increased, reaching 66.8 percent in 2009, from 61.2 percent in
2003. Formally employed Brazilians accounted for 54.2 percent of
the workforce, from 49 percent in 2003.
The number of Brazilians employed in the extraction industry
rose 7.3 percent from 2003 to 2009, while the number of workers in
the construction sector rose 11.3 percent. The number of workers in
the trade sector increased 8.6 percent, and that in the education,
health and public administration sectors increased 16.4
percent.
Salary indicators went up 14.3 percent in seven years, reaching
1,350 reais (729 U.S. dollars). Household per capita income
averaged 878 reais (474 dollars) in 2009, up 23.3 percent from
2003.
College-educated workers saw their salaries increased even more
during this period, reaching 3,392 reais (1,833 dollars) in 2009,
up 36.5 percent from 2003.
However, salary inequalities still persist: according to the
study, Brazilian women earn only 70 percent of the salaries of
men.
In addition, Brazilian black or mixed-race workers earn an
average of 51.4 percent of the salaries of white workers. However,
this gap has narrowed: from 2003 to 2009, the salaries of white
workers rose 15.3 percent, while the salaries of black and
mixed-race workers increased 22.3 percent. Enditem
