Unemployment reached 13.3% in Brazil in the second quarter, its worst rate in three years, due to the coronavirus pandemic that hit the country, where 8.9 million jobs were lost, a announced Thursday the Institute of Statistics (IBGE).
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The largest economy in Latin America saw its unemployment rate increase by 1.1 points compared to the first quarter of the year and the rate of 13.3% recorded from April to June this year is the highest since quarter from March to May 2017. According to the IBGE, which calculates unemployment in rolling quarters, 12.8 million people are looking for work in Brazil.
On Wednesday, the Central Bank lowered its key rate by 0.25 point, to 2%, a new historic low, in an attempt to revive an economy weighed down by the coronavirus crisis, whose death toll is approaching 100,000. Industrial production fell 10.9% in the first half of the year compared to the first six months of 2019, despite a sharp rebound of 8.9% in June.
Analysts consulted by the weekly Focus survey of the Central Bank expect a contraction of 5.66% of GDP this year, a forecast, however, less pessimistic than a month ago (-6.5%).