In December 2014, the total of salaried employed persons in the industry registered a positive change of 0.4% against the level of the previous month, in the seasonally adjusted series. Such a result interrupted eight months of negative rates. In this period, the index accumulated a loss of 4.3%. As a result, the quarterly moving average index presented a negative change of 0.2% in the quarter ended in December 2014 against the previous month’s result, keeping the downward trend initiated in April 2013. In the comparison with December 2013, the industrial employment declined 4.0%. It is the 39th consecutive negative result in this kind of comparison. Therefore, the cumulative index in 2014 stood at -3,2% and the annualized rate (cumulative index over the last 12 months), decreasing 3,2%, kept the downward trend initiated in September 2013 (-1.0%).

The complete publication can be accessed at https://www.ibge.gov.br/home/estatistica/indicadores/industria/pimes/.

Short-term Indicators of Industry
Brazil - December 2014

*Seasonally Adjusted Series
Source: IBGE, Diretoria de Pesquisas, Coordenação de Indústria

Comparing with the same month last year, the industrial employment dropped 4.0% in December 2014, with the contingent of workers recording reduction in the 14 places surveyed. The main negative impact on the overall average was seen in São Paulo (-4.7%). It is worth mentioning as well the negative results seen in the Northeast Region (-4.4%), Minas Gerais (-4.5%), North and Central-West Regions (-4.4%), Rio Grande do Sul (-3.3%), Paraná (-2.8%) and Rio de Janeiro (-4.0%).

By sector, concerning the monthly index of December 2014, the total of salaried employed persons decreased in 17 of the 18 sectors surveyed, with a highlight to the negative pressures coming from transportation means (-7.4%), fabricated metal products (-9.0%), communication and electric-electronic machinery and apparatus (-8.4%), machinery and equipment (-5.5%), footwear and leather (-7.5%), other products of the manufacturing industry (-6.8%), food and beverages (-1.3%), wearing apparel (-3.1%), basic metals (-5.7%) and textiles (-3.5%). On the other hand, the sole positive impact on the average of the industry was seen in the sector chemicals (0.7%).

In the cumulative index in the twelve months of 2014, the industrial employment posted a drop of 3.2%, with negative rates in 13 of the 14 places and in 16 of the 18 sectors surveyed. Among the places, São Paulo (-4.3%) marked the main negative impact on the industry overall, followed by Grande do Sul (-4.2%), Paraná (-4.2%), Minas Gerais (-2.8%), Northeast Region (-2.1%), Rio de Janeiro (-2.8%), and North and Central-West Regions (-1.7%). On the other hand, Pernambuco, with a slight advance of 0.1%, exerted the sole positive pressure. Among the sectors, still in the cumulative index accumulated in the year, the most relevant negative contributions came from fabricated metal products (-7.3%), transportation means (-5.4%), machinery and equipment (-5.5%), communication and electric-electronic machinery and apparatus (-7.2%), footwear and leather (-8.0%), wearing apparel (-3.4%), other products of the manufacturing industry (-4.5%), textiles (-4.4%), oil refining and ethanol production (-7.5%), and basic metals (-4.1%). Conversely, the negative impacts were recorded by chemicals (1.4%) and non-metallic mineral products (0.7%).

Number of hours paid changes -0.1% in December

In December of 2014, the number of hours paid to industrial workers, discounted the seasonal influences, contracted 0.1% against the previous month: the eight consecutive negative rate, accumulating in this period a loss of 4.9%. As a result, the quarterly moving average index fell 0.6% in the quarter ended in December 2014 against the previous month’s result and kept the downward trend initiated in May 2013. The number of hours paid to the industrial workers shrank 5.3%, in the comparison with December 2013: the 19th consecutive negative rate in this kind of comparison. Thus, the total number of hours paid recorded a loss of 3.9% in the cumulative index from January to December and the annualized rate, index accumulated over the last 12 months, kept the downward trend started in September 2013 (-1.0%).

In December 2014, the number of hours paid fell 5.3% in relation to the same month a year ago, with widespread fall, since all 14 places and 17 of the 18 sectors surveyed reported negative rates. Among the sectors, the main negative influences came from food and beverages (-3.2%), fabricated metal products (-11.0%), means of transportation (-8.0%), machinery and equipment (-8.3%), footwear and leather (-9.9%), other products of the manufacturing industry (-8.0%), communication and electric-electronic machinery and apparatus (-6.4%), basic metals (-9.4%), paper and press (-5.2%) and rubber and plastic (-4.5%). Conversely, the sector of chemicals, with a slight change of 0.2%, was the only one to present a positive result this month. Among the places, as compared to the same month a year ago, São Paulo (-6.2%) exerted the main negative influence on the country’s overall in December 2014, with a highlight to the negative impacts occurred in the Northeast Region (-5.3%), Minas Gerais (-5.6%), Paraná (-6.6%), Rio Grande do Sul (-5.6%), and North and Central-West Region (-4.3%).

In the cumulative index from January to December 2014, there was a downturn of 3.9% in the number of hours paid, with 16 of the 18 sectors surveyed reporting reduction. The most important negative impacts were seen in the segments of fabricated metal products (-8.5%), machinery and equipment (-7.0%), means of transportation (-6.2%), communication and electric-electronic machinery and apparatus (-8.7%), footwear and leather (-9.0%), wearing apparel (-3.8%), food and beverages (-1.1%), other products of the manufacturing industry (-4.6%) and textiles (-4.9%). Conversely, the sectors of chemicals (0.9%) and of non-metallic mineral products (0.7%) exerted the positive contributions to the total number of hours paid to the industry workers. Concerning the areas, all of the 14 places investigated presented negative rates, with a highlight to the contraction of 5.1% observed in São Paulo, followed by the losses in Rio Grande do Sul (-5.3%), Paraná (-5.3%), the Northeast Region (-3.2%) and Minas Gerais (-3.6%).

Value of real payroll advances 1.9% in December

In December 2014, the seasonally adjusted real payroll of the industrial workers rose by 1.9% compared with the previous month, offsetting part of the 2.4% drop registered last November. It should be noted that in this month there is negative influence coming both from mining and quarrying (1.6%) and manufacturing industry (3.7%). The quarterly moving average index for the industry overall recorded a positive change of 0.1% in the quarter ended in December 2014 over the result of the previous quarter, after registering a drop of 0.9% last November.

In the comparison with December 2013, the value of the real payroll reduced 3.9% in December 2014 - the seventh consecutive negative rate in this type f comparison. As a result, the value of the payroll recorded a loss of 1.1% in the cumulative index in 2014. The annualized rate (-1.1%) marked the sharpest negative result since March 2010 (-1.7%) and kept the downward trend initiated last January (1.6%).

In the comparison with the same month of the previous year, the value of the real payroll recorded decrease of 3.9% in December 2014, with negative results in 13 of the 14 places surveyed. The main negative influence on the total result was registered by São Paulo (-4.3%). It is also worth mentioning the negative contributions from the Northeast Region (-5.5%), Minas Gerais (-3.8%), Paraná (-4.5%), Rio Grande do Sul (-3.7%), Rio de Janeiro (-3.8%) and North and Central-West Regions (-2.9%). In contrast, the sole positive impact on the global average was seen in Espírito Santo, with a change of 0.6%, leveraged, to a great extent, by the advance recorded in the sector of basic metals (15.5%).

Among the sectors, in the monthly index of December 2014, the value of the real payroll in the country’s overall fell in 17 of the 18 sectors surveyed, with a highlight to communication and electric-electronic machinery and apparatus (-10.6%), food and beverages (-3.6%), fabricated metal products (-11.1%), means of transportation (-2.7%), rubber and plastic (-7.7%), wearing apparel (-7.7%), footwear and leather (-7.0%), other products of the manufacturing industry (-5.8%), basic metals (-3.4%), machinery and equipment (-1.3%), paper and press (-2.4%) and oil refining and ethanol production (-5.0%). On the other hand, the only positive result was recorded by the sector of chemicals, which had a slight positive change of 0.1%.

In the cumulative index over the twelve months of 2014, the value of the real payroll registered a decrease of 1.1%, with negative rates in 11 of the 14 places surveyed. The most relevant negative impact on the industry overall was recorded by São Paulo (-1.8%). It is also worth highlighting, though to a lesser extent, the downfalls occurred in Rio Grande do Sul (-2.4%), Northeast Region (-1.9%), Rio de Janeiro (-1.4%), Minas Gerais (-0.8%) and Paraná (-0.8%). Conversely, the main positive contribution came from the North and Central-West Regions (2.0%), followed by Santa Catarina (0.9%) and Espírito Santo (1.6%).

By sector, in the cumulative index over the year, the value of the real payroll fell in 12 of the 18 activities surveyed, pushed, mainly, by the drops seen in communication and electric-electronic machinery and apparatus (-6.6%), fabricated metal products (-5.8%), means of transportation (-2.0%) machinery and equipment (-2.4%) and footwear and leather (-4.2%). On the other hand, the sectors of food and beverages (1.3%), non-metallic mineral products (3.3%) and chemicals (1.1%) exerted the main negative contributions to the cumulative index over the twelve months of the year.