Industrial employment closed 2011 growing 1.0%, less than observed in 2010 (3.4%). Comparing December with November in the seasonally adjusted series, the total number of employed persons in industry changed 0.2%, after registering negative rates in September (-0.4%), October (-0.5%) and November (-0.1%). As a result, the quarterly moving average index changed negatively by 0.1% in December against the quarter ended in November, maintaining the downward trend which had started last September. Industrial employment fell 0.6% in the fourth quarter of 2011 in the seasonally adjusted series, after being virtually stable in the first three quarters of 2011:  January-March (0.2%); April-June (0.0%); July-September (0.1%). It declined 0.4% in December 2011 in relation to December 2010. The index in the fourth quarter of 2011 was 0.4% below the level observed in the period October-December 2010. The complete publication can be accessed on the page

In December 2011, industrial employment fell 0.4% in relation to the same month in the previous year, with decrease of the number of workers in 7 of the 14 places surveyed. The major negative influence on the overall industry was observed in São Paulo (-3.3%), pushed by negative rates in 15 of the 18 sectors surveyed and highlighted by the decrease of the number of employed persons in the sectors of fabricated metal products (-8.2%), rubber and plastic products (-8.2%), apparel and accessories (-7.9%), leather articles and footwear (-16.2%), basic metals (-9.4%), paper and press (-4.6%), other chemical products (-4.4%) and communication and electrical-electronic machinery and apparatus (-3.7%). It is worth mentioning also the negative figures observed in Santa Catarina (-1.1%), the Northeast region (-0.7%) and Ceará (-3.0%), the first one influenced by the fall in the sectors of wood (-15.9%), apparel and accessories (-4.6%) and textile products (-5.0%), the second due to the losses recorded in leather articles and footwear (-6.8%), textile products (-8.5%) and apparel and accessories (-4.0%), and the last one pushed by the decrease in the sectors of leather articles and footwear (-5.0%), textile products (-8.5%) and food products and beverages (-4.3%). On the other hand, Paraná (4.9%), Minas Gerais (2.2%), the North and Central-West regions (2.3%) and Rio Grande do Sul (1.8%) accounted for the major positive contributors to the overall industry. In Paraná, the main positive influences came from the sectors of food products and beverages (13.3%) and communication and electrical-electronic machinery and apparatus (41.6%), whereas in Minas Gerais the highlights were food products and beverages (5.8%), basic metals (6.9%) and means of transportation (4.5%). In the industrial park of the North and Central-West regions and Rio Grande do Sul, the sectors that mostly leveraged the number of employed persons were those of communication and electrical-electronic machinery and apparatus (35.1%) and food products and beverages (3.1%) in the former, and food products and beverages (11.2%), machinery and equipment (6.7%) and transportation means (7.9%) in the latter.

In terms of sectors, still concerning the monthly index, industrial employment declined in 11 of the 18 sectors surveyed, highlighted by the negative pressures coming from apparel and accessories (-6.3%), leather articles and footwear (-8.6%), fabricated metal products (-3.9%), wood (-10.5%), rubber and plastic products (-4.4%) and textile products (-4.1%). Conversely, food products and beverages (3.8%), means of transportation (3.9%), communication and electrical-electronic machinery and apparatus (4.4%) and machinery and equipment (2.5%) exerted the major positive influences on the overall industry.

In the quarterly analysis, it is observed that industrial employment declined 0.4% in the fourth quarter of 2011, interrupting 7 consecutive quarters of positive numbers and maintaining the deceleration started in the third quarter of 2010 (5.1%), both compared with the same period in the previous year. The loss of dynamism in the employment between the third (0.5%) and the fourth quarters of 2011 was widespread, reaching 11 of the 14 sectors, highlighted by rubber and plastic products (from –2.3% to –5.8%), fabricated metal products (from 0.7% to -3.1%), food products and beverages (from 3.9% to 3.0%) and apparel and accessories (from -3.1% to -4.8%) among the sectors; and Pernambuco (from 6.7% to 3.7%), São Paulo (from -2.0% to -3.5%), Paraná (from 6.9% to 5.4%), Bahia (from 0.7% to -0.4%) and the Northeast region (from 0.6% to -0.4%) among the places.

In the index accumulated between January and December 2011, the level of employment in industry was 1.0% higher than in the same period in the previous year, sustained to a large extent by the growth of 10 of the 14 places and 10 of the 18 sectors surveyed.  Among the places, Paraná (5.4%), Minas Gerais (2.9%), North and Central-West regions (3.1%), Rio Grande do Sul (2.4%) and the Northeast region (1.3%) exerted the highest positive pressures on the overall industry, whereas São Paulo (-1.3%) exerted the most relevant negative pressure. In terms of sectors, the main positive contributions to the overall industry came from food products and beverages (2.9%), means of transportation (6.9%), communication and electrical-electronic machinery and apparatus (6.1%), machinery and equipment (3.7%) and other products of the manufacturing industry (4.1%). Conversely, the sectors of paper and press (-7.5%), leather articles and footwear (-5.0%), apparel and accessories (-3.2%) and wood (-9.3%) exerted the main negative influences.

Number of hours paid changes 0.4% in December

The number of hours paid to the workers in industry, discounted the seasonal influences, registered a positive change of 0.4% in December 2011 against the immediately previous month, after decreasing 0.8% in September, 0.9% in October and 0.2% in November. These figures showed a negative change of 0.2% in the quarterly moving average index from quarters ended in November and December, continuing with the downward curve started last April. Comparing the quarter against immediately previous quarter in the seasonally adjusted series, the number of hours paid in the industry fell 1.4% in the fourth quarter of 2011, third consecutive negative rate and the highest one of them, accumulating a loss of 2.0% in the period.

The comparison with the same month in the previous year showed a fall of 1.5% in the number of hours paid in industry in December 2011, fourth consecutive negative rate in this type of comparison. At the end of the fourth quarter of 2011, the number of hours paid declined 1.4% in relation to the same period in the previous year. The accumulated index in 2011 rose 0.5%, below the growth rate observed in 2010 (4.1%). The index accumulated in the last 12 months (0.5%) continued to slow down as observed since February 2011 (4.5%).

The number of hours paid decreased 1.5% in December 2011 against the same month in the previous year, showing negative rates in 6 of the 14 places surveyed. The major negative influence on the overall industry was observed in São Paulo (-5.1%), pushed by the contraction in 17 of the 18 sectors surveyed and affected by the decrease in the number of hours paid in the sectors of fabricated metal products (-10.6%), communication and electrical-electronic machinery and apparatus (-7.7%), basic metals (-15.7%), food products and beverages (-3.8%), rubber and plastic products (-6.4%), leather articles and footwear (-19.4%) and other chemical products (-6.7%). It is worth mentioning also the negative influences coming from Santa Catarina (-2.6%), mainly due to the decrease recorded in the sectors of apparel and accessories (-7.7%), wood (-19.3%) and textile products (-7.3%); and Ceará (-2.2%), influenced, above all, by the decline observed in leather articles and footwear (-3.6%) and textile products (-8.1%). On the other hand, Minas Gerais (2.0%) exerted the major positive impact on the total amount of hours paid, leveraged to a large extent by the growth in the sectors of food products and beverages (6.2%), basic metals (8.4%) and transportation means (5.7%).  It is also important to mention the positive contributions coming from Pernambuco (5.9%), sustained, above all, by the increase in the sector of food products and beverages (9.3%); Paraná (1.8%), due to the expansion observed in communication and electrical-electronic machinery and apparatus (48.6%) and food products and beverages (4.9%); and Rio Grande do Sul (1.4%), mainly influenced by the sectors of food products and beverages (10.7%) and communication and electrical-electronic machinery and apparatus (2.2%).

In terms of sectors, the number of hours paid compared with the same month in the previous year decreased in 12 of the 18 sectors surveyed. The major negative influences came from apparel and accessories (-6.4%), fabricated metal products (-5.5%), leather articles and footwear (-6.7%), wood (-11.9%), rubber and plastic products (-4.6%) and textile products (-4.7%). On the other hand, the sectors of food products and beverages (2.3%), transportation means (2.3%) and other products of the manufacturing industry (3.2%) exerted the most significant positive contributions to the overall industry.

In quarterly terms, the number of hours paid fell 1.4% in the fourth quarter of 2011, continuing the downward trend which started in the third quarter of 2010 (5.6%). It recorded 3.8% in the last quarter of that year, 2.6% in the period January-March 2011, 0.7% between April and June and 0.1% in the period July-September, all of them compared with the same period in the previous year. The loss of dynamism in the number of hours paid between the third and fourth quarters of 2011 was followed by 14 sectors and 12 places. Among the activities, the biggest losses between the two periods were registered by fabricated metal products, which changed from -1.1% to -5.3%, food products and beverages (from 2.9% to 1.4%), rubber and plastic products (from -1.0% to -4.6%), communication and electrical-electronic machinery and apparatus (from 6.2% to 3.4%) and apparel and accessories (from -3.3% to -5.3%). Among the places, the highlights were observed in the North and Central-West regions (from 2.6% to -0.3%), Pernambuco (from 8.5% to 6.0%), São Paulo (from -2.2% to -4.4%), Santa Catarina (from -1.1% to -2.6%) and Paraná (from 3.3% to 2.0%).

The index accumulated in 2011 expanded 0.5%, showing positive rates in 10 of the 14 places and in 9 of the 18 sectors surveyed. In terms of sectors, the main positive contributions to the total number of hours paid came from means of transportation (6.2%), food products and beverages (2.0%), communication and electrical-electronic machinery and apparatus (5.9%) and machinery and equipment (3.7%), while paper and press (-8.1%), leather articles and footwear (-6.0%), apparel and accessories (-3.5%) and wood (-9.5%) were the main negative influences on the overall industry.

Among the places, the most relevant positive influences came from Minas Gerais (2.8%), the North and Central-West regions (2.8%), Paraná (2.9%), the Northeast region (1.3%), Pernambuco (5.5%) and Rio Grande do Sul (1.6%), leveraged to a great extent by the increase in the number of hours paid in the sectors of transportation means (6.6%), basic metals (6.1%), rubber and plastic products (13.6%), food products and beverages (2.5%) and mining and quarrying industry (5.7%) in the first place; communication and electrical-electronic machinery and apparatus (37.1%) and fabricated metal products (16.8%) in the North and Central-West regions; communication and electrical-electronic machinery and apparatus (39.5%) and food products and beverages (5.3%) in Paraná; food products and beverages (3.6%), non-metallic minerals (6.4%) and transportation means (18.4%) in the Northeast region; food products and beverages (6.6%) and transportation means (49.3%) in Pernambuco; and food products and beverages (10.6%) and machinery and equipment (5.7%) in the last one. On the other hand, São Paulo (-1.7%) and Ceará (-2.8%) registered the major negative impact on the accumulated index of the year, pushed, above all, by the fall observed in the sectors of paper and press (-16.1%), apparel and accessories (-8.8%) and fabricated metal products (-5.5%) in the former; and leather articles and footwear (-9.4%) in the latter.

In summary, the industrial employment and the amount of hours paid in December 2011 returned to the positive side, after recording three consecutive months of negative rates against the immediately previous month. It reflected, in part, the slight acceleration observed in industrial output last November and December. Even with the marginal positive result, the evolution of the quarterly moving average index still followed the lower intensity of the labor market in the industrial sector, once this indicator in December 2011 continued to show negative rates both in terms of total number of employed persons and in of number of hours paid. In the quarter against immediately previous quarter index in the seasonally adjusted series, both variables also registered, in the fourth quarter of the year, signs of deceleration of pace along 2011. The amount of hours paid deepened the negative figures observed in the second and third quarters of 2011, while the industrial employment dropped after being virtually stable along the first three quarters of the year. Comparing with the same period in the previous year, industrial employment and the number of hours paid in industry continued to show, in December 2011, the series of negative rates in the monthly index. They registered the first negative figure in the quarterly index since October-December 2009, confirming the decline in the industrial output along 2011. As a result, the index accumulated in the year closed 2011 with positive numbers – 1.0% in the total employed persons and 0.5% in the amount of hours paid -, but below those recorded in 2010 (3.4% and 4.1%, respectively).

Real payroll grows 4.2% in 2011

The seasonally adjusted real payroll of the workers in industry decreased 2.1% in December 2011 compared with the immediately previous month, after advancing 0.7% in November. As a result, the quarterly moving average index dropped 1.3% from quarters ended in November and December, close to the fall observed in the previous month (-1.2%). It is worth highlighting that it was the third consecutive negative result of this indicator, after the upward curve of the real payroll between December 2010 and September 2011. Comparing quarter against immediately previous quarter in the seasonally adjusted series, the real payroll registered a fall of 2.9% in the fourth quarter of 2011, reversing three consecutive quarters of expansion, when it accumulated a gain of 5.5%.

In the comparison with the same periods in the previous year, real payroll increased 3.1% in December 2011, 2.3% in the fourth quarter of the year and 4.2% in the accumulated in 2011. The accumulated index in the last 12 months (4.2%) continued the downward trend started in February 2011 (7.6%).

In the monthly index, the value of the real payroll rose 3.1% in December 2011, with positive results in 11 of the 14 places surveyed. The major positive contributions to the overall industry were observed in Rio de Janeiro (16.0%) and Minas Gerais (11.1%), leveraged in large extent by the increase of the real payroll in the sectors of transportation means (39.1%) and mining and quarrying industry (16.1%) – explained by the payment of the Christmas bonus – in the former, and in the sectors of transportation means (20.6%), mining and quarrying industry (29.2%) and basic metals (15.6%) in the latter. It is worth mentioning also the positive figures coming from Paraná (15.7%), leveraged in large extent by the advances in the sectors of transportation means (37.5%), food products and beverages (26.5%) and communication and electrical-electronic machinery and apparatus (39.3%); the Northeast region (3.0%), mainly due to the growth observed in food products and beverages (5.3%); and Bahia (5.6%), influenced, above all, by the activities of other chemical products (13.0%), food products and beverages (12.7%) and non-metallic minerals (34.1%). Conversely, the most relevant negative contribution to the overall industry came from São Paulo (-1.3%), pushed by the fall of the real payroll in the sectors of other chemical products (-6.4%), basic metals (-9.7%), rubber and plastic products (-5.6%) and communication and electrical-electronic machinery and apparatus (-4.3%).

In terms of sectors, the value of real payroll increased in 11 of the 18 sectors surveyed, highlighted by transportation means (8.1%), food products and beverages (6.6%), mining and quarrying industry (13.0%), machinery and equipment (3.0%) and communication and electrical-electronic machinery and apparatus (3.5%). On the other hand, the largest negative impacts on the overall industry were apparel and accessories (-5.2%), other chemical products (-2.1%), rubber and plastic products (-2.7%), leather articles and footwear (-3.6%) and wood (-7.3%).

In the quarterly analysis, the value of real payroll rose 2.3% in the fourth quarter of 2011, continuing the series of positive numbers started in the first quarter of 2010 (3.4%). However, it proceeded with the decrease in the pace of growth started in the third quarter of 2010 (9.9%), all of them compared with the same period in the previous year. The loss of dynamism of the real payroll was observed in 13 of the 18 sectors and in 9 of the 14 places surveyed from the third (4.1%) to the fourth quarter of 2011, highlighted by transportation means (from 13.7% to 4.0%), rubber and plastic products (4.0% to -0.5%) and mining and quarrying industry (11.0% to 7.9%) among the sectors, and Espírito Santo (from 6.3% to -2.0%), the North and Central-West regions (8.4% to 3.0%) and São Paulo (1.6% to -1.6%) among the places.

In the accumulated index in 2011, the real payroll expanded 4.2%, widespread along the 14 places investigated. The major influences on the overall industry were Minas Gerais (10.7%) and São Paulo (1.7%), mainly leveraged by the positive figures observed in the sectors of transportation means (17.3%), mining and quarrying industry (21.2%) and basic metals (13.4%) in the former, and transportation means (7.5%), machinery and equipment (6.8%) and food products and beverages (3.5%) in the latter. It is worth mentioning also the advances observed in Paraná (9.9%), Rio de Janeiro (6.3%), the Northeast region (5.0%) and the North and Central-West regions (5.7%).  The activities that mostly contributed to the increase of real payroll in these places were: transportation means (20.4%), food products and beverages (13.8%) and communication and electrical-electronic machinery and apparatus (41.0%) in Paraná; mining and quarrying industry (8.0%), transportation means (10.0%) and other chemical products (7.4%) in Rio de Janeiro; food products and beverages (7.7%), transportation means (22.3%), non-metallic minerals (9.5%) and machinery and equipment (18.2%) in the Northeast region; and communication and electrical-electronic machinery and apparatus (24.4%), mining and quarrying industry (12.1%) and fabricated metal products (22.7%) in the North and Central-West regions.

In terms of sectors, considering the index accumulated in 2011, real payroll grew in 13 of the 18 sectors surveyed. The highlights were the positive contributions from transportation means (9.9%), food products and beverages (5.6%), machinery and equipment (6.4%), communication and electrical-electronic machinery and apparatus (7.6%), mining and quarrying industry (8.1%) and basic metals (6.2%).  Conversely, the highest negative pressures on the overall industry were from paper and press (-9.0%), leather articles and footwear (-4.1%) and wood (-5.1%).