Jobs growth resumed in Brazil in February for the first time in 22 months, President Michel Temer announced on Thursday. Some 35,612 formal jobs were created last month, said Temer, who took power last year.
The last time the jobs market grew was in March 2015, when 19,200 jobs were created. In January, a record 12.9 million Brazilians were reported to be unemployed. "We have many millions of Brazilians that depend on jobs," Temer acknowledged, saying the economy was poised to improve. "We have a climate of political and social stability," and "now more than ever, I can ascertain the interest of foreign investment in our country," said Temer.
That prognosis was borne out by credit rating agency Moody's, he noted. "Yesterday, Moody's changed (Brazil's credit outlook) from negative to stable," said Temer Analysts say Brazil's fiscal imbalance could leave the economy in "speculative grade" for a while to come.
The jobs picture still needs to improve considerably, after 1.32 million jobs were lost in 2016 and 1.54 million in 2015. In February, Finance Minister Henrique Meirelles announced a two-year recession to be over, but said the official financial indicators were not out yet to confirm.
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