In February 2011, industrial employment increased 0.5% compared to the figure in January (seasonally adjusted series)...

In February 2011, industrial employment increased 0.5% compared to the figure in January (seasonally adjusted series), after being practically stable in the last six months. As a result, the quarterly moving average index recorded slight positive change in February (0.1%), after four months of stability. In relation to the result of February 2010, industrial employment increased 2.9%, but with slight deceleration, being below the 3.6% of the last quarter of 2010. Both results are comparisons with the same period in the previous year. The annualized rate, the indicator accumulated in the last twelve months, has reached its peak since the beginning of the time series.

Industrial employment recorded increase of 2.9% versus the index of February last year, and the number of workers increased in 13 of the 14 areas surveyed. The main positive contributions to the overall result came from São Paulo (2.0%), Minas Gerais (4.6%), Northeast and Central West Region (4.8%), Northeast Region (3.1%), Rio Grande do Sul (3.6%) and Santa Catarina (3.1%). In São Paulo, the main positive contributions came from means of transportation (8.5%), food products and beverages (4.5%), textiles (9.2%) and machinery and equipment (4.3%). In the industry of Minas Gerais, the most relevant subsectors regarding total employed persons were means of transportation (12.1%), metal products (12.3%) and mining and quarrying industry (9.1%). In the North and Central West Region, the main advances in industrial employment were those of electronic and communication machines and appliances (29.5%) and metal products (35.7%), whereas, in the northeastern industry, the main contributions came from non-metallic minerals (11.6%), apparel (5.1%) and rubber and plastic (12.5%). In Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina, the main highlights were food products and beverages (7.6%)and machinery and equipment (11.7%), in the former, and machinery and equipment (14.5%), apparel (5.7%) and metal products (16.5%) in the latter. On the other hand, Ceará (-0.3%) accounted for the only negative rate among those of the areas surveyed. It was responsible, to a great extent, for the reduction of the total number of persons employed in the footwear and leather industry (-5.5%).

By subsector, also regarding the monthly indicator, industrial employment increased in thirteen of the eighteen subsectors surveyed, and the main highlights were: means of transportation (8.7%), machinery and equipment  (6.7%), metal products (7.5%), food products and beverages (2.3%) and electronic and communication machines and appliances (6.4%). On the contrary, paper and printing (-7.8%), apparel (-2.0%) and wood (-5.6%) accounted for the main negative changes.

In terms of the indicator accumulated in the first two months of the year, industrial employment remained on an upward trend (2.9%), with increase in all the fourteen areas and in twelve of the eighteen subsectors surveyed. Among the areas, São Paulo (2.0%), Minas Gerais (4.3%), North and Central West Region (4.5%), Northeast Region (2.6%), Rio Grande do Sul (3.6%) and Santa Catarina (3.1%) accounted for the main positive results. By subsector, the most relevant positive contributions came from means of transportation (8.4%), metal products (8.3%), machinery and equipment (7.0%), electronic and communication machines and appliances (7.0%), rubber and plastic (5.3%), metallurgy (8.2%) and food products and beverages (1.4%), whereas paper and printing (-8.0%) and apparel (-2.4%) accounted for the main negative impacts.

Number of hours paid increases by 1.1% compared to January 

The number of hours paid to industry workers increased 1.1% in February 2011, in comparison with the immediately previous month (seasonally adjusted series), after having been stable last January (00%) and increased 0.3% in December and November 2010. Still considering this series, the quarterly moving average index, after 0.5% of increase between the quarters that ended in January and February, accelerated in relation to results of the previous month (0.2%) and December (0.0%).

Compared to the figure relative to January last year, the number of hours paid increased 3.2% and represented the tenth consecutive positive result in this type of comparison. The indicator accumulated in the first two months of the year was also positive (3.0%), but presented deceleration versus the last quarter of 2010 (3.7%), being both comparisons relative to the same period in the previous year. The annualized rate, the index accumulated in the last twelve months, has been on an upward trend since November 2009, having increased 4.4% in February 2011 and reached the highest figure since the beginning of the time series.

Versus February 2010, the number of hours paid increased 3.2%, with positive rates in thirteen of the fourteen areas and twelve of the eighteen activities. In terms of subsectors, means of transportation (8.6%), electronic and communication machines and appliances (9.5%), machinery and equipment (6.5%), metal products (7.1%), food products and beverages (2.0%) and non-metallic minerals (7.0%) accounted for the main positive contributions to the overall rate of industry, whereas paper and printing (-7.8%) and apparel (-3.1%) accounted for the main negative contributions.

Also in comparison with the previous month, the areas that recorded the biggest impacts on the national result were São Paulo (2.4%), Minas Gerais (5.1%), Northeast and Central West Region (5.7%), Northeast Region (2.5%) and Rio Grande do Sul (3.8%). The main highlights, in terms of number of hours paid, are, respectively: means of transportation (8.9%), textiles (11.0%), food products and beverages (3.7%), other products from manufacturing industry (11.7%) and machinery and equipment (4.7%), in São Paulo; metal products (12.%) and means of transportation (9.8%), in Minas Gerais; communication machines and appliances (35.7%), metal products (41.8%) and non-metallic minerals (16.6%) in the North and Central West Region; apparel (5.8%) and non-metallic minerals (9.0%), in the Northeast Region and food products and beverages (9.6%) and machinery and equipment (9.6%), in Rio Grande do Sul. On the other hand, Ceará (-1.1%) remained as the only area accounting for a negative contribution to the overall index, having been greatly affected by the reduction of hours paid by the footwear and leather industry (-8.7%).

The index accumulated in the first two months of 2011 (3.0%) decreased in twelve of the fourteen subsectors, being the main highlights, with positive rates: means of transportation (8.8%), metal products (9.0%), machinery and equipment (6.7%), electronic and communication machines and appliances (8.6%), non-metallic minerals (7.5%) and rubber and plastic (5.7%). On the other hand, paper and printing (-8.5%) and apparel (-2.7%) accounted for the main negative contributions. In terms of areas, the best positive contributions were those of São Paulo (2.2%), Minas Gerais (5.1%), North and Central West Region (5.6%), Rio Grande do Sul (3.4%) and Northeast Region (1.9%), whereas Ceará, with decrease of 1.2%, represented the only negative result.

Real payroll is 1.1% above that of January

In February 2011, the seasonally adjusted real payroll of industry workers increased 1.1% in relation to the immediately previous month. It was the second positive rate, with accumulated gain of 6.3% in this period. With these results, the quarterly moving average index increased 1.0% in February, after the 0.2% increment of last January.

Real payroll, versus figures in equivalent periods in the previous year and in the first two months of the year, recorded increases of 6.8% and 7.0%, respectively. The annualized rate, the indicator accumulated in the last twelve months, increased 0.4 percentage points and changed from 7.3% in January to 7.7% in February. Real payroll reached its highest rate since April 2005 (7.7%), and has been on an upward trend since December 2009 (-2.4%).

In the comparison February 2011/February 2010, real payroll recorded increase of 6.8%, with positive results in all the fourteen areas surveyed. The biggest contribution to the overall index of industry came from São Paulo (4.9%), due to the increase of real payroll fin the subsectors: machinery and equipment (11.6%), means of transportation (7.0%), food products and beverages (5.5%) and electronic and communication machines and appliances (7.2%). It is also worth mentioning the contribution from Minas Gerais (10.2%), due to the increments of mining and quarrying industry (20.0%) and metal products (27,4%); from Rio de Janeiro (11.8%), due to paper and printing  (74.2%), as a result of the sharing of profits in a big company of this sector, mining and quarrying industry  (8.6%) and machinery and equipment (21.0%); and from Rio Grande do Sul (9.4%), due to machinery and equipment (22.9%), means of communication (15.8%) and food products and beverages (10.7%).

By subsector, real payroll recorded increase in fifteen of the eighteen subsectors surveyed, being the highlights: machinery and equipment (14.3%), means of transportation (6.9%), mining and quarrying industry (9.7%), food products and beverages (5.3%), metal products (10.3%) and electronic and communication machines and appliances (9.3%). On the other hand, negative rates were only observed in the subsectors of tobacco (-2.6%) and wood (-0.3%).

Considering the indicator accumulated in the first two months of 2011, real payroll increased 7.0%, being close to the 7.9% relative to the last quarter of 2010 – both comparisons refer to the same period in the previous year.  In the first two months of 2011, there were positive rates in all the areas surveyed, especially in São Paulo (5.6%), mainly due to the increments in means of transportation (9.5%), machinery and equipment (12.1%) and chemical products (9.7%). It is also worth mentioning the positive contributions from Minas Gerais (14.1%), Rio de Janeiro (9.2%) and Rio Grande do Sul (8.4%). In these areas, the activities which accounted for the main positive contributions were, respectively, means of transportation (28.4%) and mining and quarrying industry (18.6%); mining and quarrying industry (10.1%) and means of transportation (15.2%); and machinery and equipment (19.6%), means of transportation (12.7%) and food products and beverages (9.4%).

By subsector, also considering the index accumulated in the year, real payroll increased in fifteen of the eighteen activities surveyed, mainly due to the increases coming from means of transportation (12.4%), machinery and equipment (13.9%), food products and beverages (4.6%), chemical products (8.5%), metal products (10.8%), mining and quarrying industry (7.8%) and electronic and communication machines and appliances (8.1%). On the other hand, paper and printing (-5.2%) accounted for the main negative contribution to the national index.