From 2003 to 2007, the number of industrial companies in the country (with five or more workers) increased from 139 thousand to 164 thousand and the number of workers changed from 5.9 million to 7.3 million persons. In this period there was increase of the average salary paid in nominal terms (from R$ 1 073 to R$ 1 410), which corresponded to real gain of about 8.8%. In 2007, the best performance in terms of capacity of personnel employment was observed in the subsector of food products (18.6%), followed by apparel and accessories (7.8%), machinery and equipment (6.9%), metal products (6.1%), production and assembling of automotive vehicles (5.6%) and footwear and leather articles (5.5%) which complete the group of sectors which employed approximately 50% of the population employed in industry. Data presented by the Annual Survey of Industry (PIA) – Enterprise and Product 2007 also show that, in 2007, industrial companies had net sales revenue of about R$ 1.5 trillion (na average of R$ 9.2 million per company) and had expenses with personnel and direct production costs of R$ 196 billion and R$ 114 billion, respectively. 

In 2007, expenditure with personnel made up 13.1% of the main items of the total costs and expenditure. Expenses concerning raw material consumption reached 46.6% and the acquisition of material for resale was 4.4%. Direct production costs reached 7.6%, with 2.7% from fuel consumption and electricity purchase and 4.9% from the payment of outsourced services and other types of consumption related to the maintenance and repair of material and equipment. In other expenses, which made up 28.3% of the total, depreciation, amortization and depletion of capital assets represented 3.2%; the payment of royalties and technical assistance, 1.3% and with marketing, 1.2%. Together, other costs and expenses made up 22.6%. 

The main items in the structure of investments in capital assets, in the year 2007, were the purchases of industrial machinery and equipment, which represented 50.9% of the total, other acquisitions (furniture, personal computers, etc.) which reached 29.4% and land and building, which reached 13.5% of the total use of resources.

Considering the subsectors, in terms of value of manufacturing (VTI) in 2007, the main activities were: petroleum refining and alcohol production (15.3%), food products (12.2%), chemical products (10.3%), manufacturing and maintenance of automotive vehicles (8.5%), metallurgy (7.9%) and machinery and equipment (6.0%), which concentrate approximately 60% of the total of industry. Except for food products (13.0%) and material and equipment (6.3%), none of the leading sectors in terms of value of manufacturing, fit in the categories of those which concentrate the biggest number of companies. So, the highlights were: apparel and accessories (14.7%), metal products (10.2%), non-metallic minerals (7.6%), furniture (5.7%), editing and printing (5.7%), wood (5.2%) and rubber and plastic (5.2%).  

In terms of Regions¹, in 2007, companies located especially in the Southeast (52.9%) and South (27.4%) also concentrated the biggest levels of participation in the number of persons employed, with 53.7% and 25.2%, respectively. Both Regions had, respectively, 62.7% and 18.5% of the value of manufacturing. Results can be explained as a consequence of the density and diversification of industrial structure in the se two places.  

The Northeast and Central west regions had bigger relative importance in the total of persons employed and in the number of local units than in other variables 9net sales revenue, value of manufacturing and expenditure on personnel), reflecting the presence of traditional enterprises and more active in terms of manpower.

Considering the data by area, and an analysis of PIA enterprise by sector, it is also possible to identify the concentration of companies in the major Regions of the country. In most of the regions the highlight is the production of food products and beverages, but only in the Central West is there significant presence of this sector both in value of manufacturing (49.5%) and in number of persons employed (45.6%), which reflects the existence of big plants for processing and exporting agricultural products. In the Southeast Region, due to the diversification of industry, the subsector of food products and beverages reaches its lowest regional participation: 11.9% of the value of manufacturing and 14.6% of the persons employed.

In the Northeast, in spite of the participation of 17.7% in the total value of industrial transformation, this sector has lost the leadership for the segment of petroleum refining and alcohol production (20.3%), but remains as the first one in terms of persons employed, with about 32% of the persons employed. In the South Region, the subsector of food products and beverages, with 19% of participation in the total value of manufacturing, had relevant participation, above the sum of machinery and equipment (9.4%) and manufacturing and assembling of automotive vehicles (9.2%). On the other hand, in the North Region, the subsector of food products and mining and quarrying industry were the leaders in terms of value of manufacturing, both with 16.1%. This level of participation is very different when we observe the total persons employed, and the number of local units, in which the subsector of food products and beverages is more important than mining and quarrying industry.

Subsector of food products is highlight in terms of employment of

In relation to 2003, besides the increase of the number of companies (from 139 thousand to 164 thousand) and of persons employed in the industrial sector (from 5.9 million to 7.3 million), in the group of companies with 5 or more persons employed, there was also increase of the average salary paid in nominal terms (from R$ 1 073 to R$ 1 410). This corresponds to real gain of about 8.8%.

In the structure by sector, the best performance in terms of incorporation of persons employed, in year 2007, came from the sector of food products (18.6%), followed by apparel and accessories (7.8%), machinery and equipment (6.9%), metal products (6.1%), manufacturing and assembling of automotive vehicles (5.6%) and footwear and leather articles (5.5%) which complete the group of sectors which employed approximately 50% of the persons employed in industry in 2007.

The activities which had more gain in participation in the total persons employed between the two periods were: food products, which changed from 17.7% in 2003 to 18.6% in 2007, metal products (from 5.3% to 6.1%) and petroleum refining and alcohol production (from 1.6% to 2.3%). On the other hand, the subsectors of footwear and leather articles (from 6.9% to 5.5%) and wood (from 4.2% to 3.1%) are the ones with the main decreases between the two periods.

Considering the total salaries and withdrawals paid in 2007, few subsectors of industrial activity accounted for over half of the total paid by industry, about 52%, being the highlight the participation of food products (13.0%) manufacturing and assembling of automotive vehicles (9.6%), chemical products  (9.6%), machinery and equipment (8.5%), petroleum refining and alcohol production (6.0%) and metallurgy (5.3%).

On the other hand, traditional subsectors, which are most significant in terms of manpower, such as footwear and leather articles (2.7%) and apparel and accessories (3.4%) and stand out in terms of persons employed  have little participation in the total salaries paid in industry. Also considering this variable, the subsector of food products also had increase of participation in the sector structure between 2003 (11.9%) and 2007 (13.0%) and remains as the most important ones in these periods.

Petroleum refining and alcohol production have highest salaries and productivity

In the year 2007, the main highlights in terms of average monthly salary, considering minimum wages, were petroleum refining and alcohol production (9.8), followed by tobacco (7.0), chemical products (7.0), manufacturing and assembling of automotive vehicles (6.5); other transportation equipment (6.4), metallurgy (6,3) and electronic material and communication equipment (5.7). Among these activities, the highlight is the behavior of the tobacco industry which, in spite of the reduced participation (0.5%) in the total salaries and withdrawals, pays high salaries, reflecting the presence of big companies of processing and export of tobacco.

The indicator of productivity of work indicates that each person employed in the companies surveyed generated an average of R$ 83.4 thousand of value in 2007, with a very different behavior among the sectors. In general, productivity tends to be high in sectors which are considered of high-technology or capital-intensive.

In general, the productivity of work tends to be high in sectors considered of capital intensive. In 2007, the subsectors which had results above the average of industry were: petroleum refining and alcohol production (R$ 550 thousand), tobacco (R$ 226 thousand), metallurgy (R$ 209 thousand), mining and quarrying industry (R$ 168 thousand) and chemical products (R$ 167 thousand). On the other hand, the most traditional sectors that is, the most active in terms of manpower, had productivity below the total of industry,  being the highlight apparel and accessories (R$ 19 thousand), footwear and leather articles (R$ 23 thousand), furniture (R$ 27 thousand), recycling (R$ 29 thousand), textiles (R$ 35 thousand) and wood (R$ 35 thousand).

The indicator which measures the labor cost, that is, the ratio between expenditure on personnel and value of manufacturing, is 32.4% for the total of industry in the year 2007 and shows distinct behavior among the subsectors. The ones with lower labor cost are exactly those with highest productivity, pointing to competitive advantage of these subsectors in what concerns the working factor.

Southeast and south reduce difference in relation to other Regions

Between 2003 and 2007, it is possible to observe the clear predominance of the Southeast and South, considering persons employed, salaries and withdrawals, average salaries, net sales revenue and value of manufacturing. However between these periods, there was reduction of differences between the Southeast and South and other regions. In the period, the Northeast had the biggest gain in participation in total persons employed, having changed from 11.7% to 12.7%, whereas the South Region, which changed from 26.4% to 25.2%, had the biggest loss. In the other regions, participation occurred as follows: Southeast (from 54.0% to 53.7%), North (from 3.4% to 3.6%) and Central West (from 4.5% to 4.7%).

The average salary, which, in national terms was 3.8 minimum wages in 2007, differs among Regions. The Southeast has the highest salary (4.6) and shows a difference of 21.1% compared to the average salary paid in the total of industry, whereas in the other areas salaries were below the national average: North (3.1), South (3.0), and Northeast and Central West (both with 2.5). In 2003, the average monthly salary paid in the Southeast Region was 23.4% higher than the national average and throughout those four years there was reduction of the difference between the salary paid by industry and the salary paid in other Regions: in the South, the average salary in 2003 was 23.4% below the national average and in 2007 it was 21.1% below; in the Central West it was 42.6% lower and was 34.2% below; in the North, there was change from -23.4% to -18.4% and in the Northeast, from -38.3% to -34.2%.

In terms of Federative Units, in 2007, it can be observed that Rio de Janeiro, with 6.2 minimum wages, pays the highest average salaries among the southeastern states, reflecting the high salaries paid in mining and quarrying and petroleum and alcohol industries. São Paulo, with 4.9 minimum wages, also had a result above the average of the area (4.6), influenced by the subsectors of chemical products, other transportation equipment, production and assembling of automotive vehicles and electronic and communication material and equipment.

In the North Region, Amazonas pays the highest salaries (4.0) and is the only state above the regional average (3.1); this result can be seen as a consequence of the sectors of petroleum refining and alcohol production and mining and quarrying industry. In the South (3.0), the three states present very similar average salaries: Rio Grande do Sul (3.3), Paraná (3.0) and Santa Catarina (2.8).

In the Northeast and Central West Regions, which pay on average 2.5 minimum wages, the main highlights were Bahia (4.1) and Sergipe (3.6) in the former and, and Federal District  (3.2) in the latter. In Bahia, the highlights were the subsectors of petroleum refining and alcohol production, production and assembling of automotive vehicles and mining and quarrying industry. Between  2003 and 2007, there was no change in relation to the relevance of states within the Region.

North Region has highest productivity due to sectors of technology and economies of scale

The indicator of work productivity also shows different behavior among the areas, and the main highlight comes from the North Region, which generated and average of R$139 thousand of value in 2007, mainly due to the performance of the subsectors with prevalence of technology and economies of scale, such as, for example: petroleum refining and alcohol production; mining and quarrying industry; metallurgy; other transportation equipment; medical/hospital instruments, chronometers and watches; and electronic material and communication equipment. The Southeast Region (R$ 99 thousand) also had, in 2007, productivity above the national average (R$ 84.5 thousand), whereas in the other ones, the results were below average: South (R$ 62 thousand), Central West (R$ 62 thousand) and Northeast (R$ 63 thousand). Between 2003 and 2007, the North Region remained presenting the highest levels of productivity, followed by the Southeast, both above the average of industry.

In summary, in the comparison between 2003 and 2007, besides the increase of the number of companies and persons employed in industry, there was also increase of the average salary paid in nominal and real terms. The activities with biggest increase in the number of persons employed were: food products, metal products, petroleum refining and alcohol production and machinery and equipment. In the same order, in the total salaries and withdrawals paid, were the activities of food products, machinery and equipment, petroleum refining and alcohol production and other transportation equipment.

The subsectors manufacturing and assembling of automotive vehicles and chemical products faced decrease in participation, but remain as the second and third ones in the ranking of sector structure. In terms of average monthly salary, the most significant ones in technology in technology and the ones structured upon major industrial plants with high production scales remained paying higher salaries, being the highlight petroleum refining and alcohol production, which was the leader among the subsectors both in 2003 and in 2007. It is worth mentioning that this subsector also presented the highest productivity levels and lower labor cost between these two periods.

In the analysis by area, there were no significant changes between 2003 and 2007 in variables such as persons employed, salaries and withdrawals paid, average salary, productivity and labor cost. The loss of relevance of the Southeast and South Regions versus the Northeast, central West and North in terms of the structure of persons employed, and salaries and withdrawals already paid had been observed in previous years. Considering the average monthly wage, it is worth mentioning the biggest gain from the Northeast, Central West and North, which considerably reduce the difference compared to the national average, mainly due to the real gain from readjustments in minimum wages in the period considered (about 31%).

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¹  Information considered at national level refers to the industrial enterprise. In the regionalization of data, information refers, for companies with activities in more than one location, to information obtained from their local production units.