Against February 2013, the industrial employment recorded a drop of -2.0%, the twentieth negative result in a row in this kind of comparison. In the cumulative index of the first two months of 2014, the total of salaried employed persons in the industry also registered a drop of 2.0%, increasing the pace of decline against the second  (-0.5%), third (-1.2%) and fourth  (-1.7%) quarter of 2013 (all comparisons against the same month a year ago). The annualized rate - cumulative index over the last 12 months - recording a retraction of 1.3% in February 2014, kept the moderate downward trend started in August last year (-1.0%).

Industrial employment shrinks in 12 of the 14 places surveyed

Comparing with February last year, the industrial employment fell 2.0%, with the contingent of workers recording reduction in 12 of the 14 places surveyed. The main negative impact on the global average came from São Paulo (-3,1%), pushed to a great extent by the reduction of the employed persons in 12 of the 18 activities, with a highlight to the industry of fabricated metal products (-14.2%), machinery and equipment (-8.2%), textiles (-9.4%), means of transportation (-3.2%), footwear and leather (-12.5%), other products of the manufacturing industry (-6.2%), oil refining and ethanol production (-8.7%) and non-metallic mineral products (-4.7%). It is also worth mentioning the negative results coming from Rio Grande do Sul (-4.1%), Paraná (-2.8%), the Northeast Region (-0.8%) and Minas Gerais (-0.9%), with the first place influenced principally by the drops in footwear and leather (-12.4%), machinery and equipment (-7.4%), communication and electric-electronic machinery and apparatuses (-14.1%), basic metals (-16.8%) and fabricated metal products (-3.9%); the second one pressed especially by the segments of communication and electric-electronic machinery and apparatuses (-34.4%), wearing apparel (-9.3%), other products of the manufacturing industry (-7.4%) and fabricated metal products (-7.7%); the third one due to the losses in footwear and leather (-3.5%), textiles (-5.4%),oil refining and ethanol production (-7.9%) and mining and quarrying industries (-7.1%); and the fourth one due to contractions recorded in footwear and leather (-8.4%), communication and electric-electronic machinery and apparatuses (-5.8%), food and beverages (-1.8%) and wearing apparel (-4.1%). On the other hand, Pernambuco (2.0%) and the North and Central-West Regions (0.5%) recorded the positive contributions to the industrial employment in February 2014, leveraged to a great extent by the sectors of food and beverages (5.3%), chemicals (9.3%) and wearing apparel (4.7%), in the first area; of food and beverages (2.9%), of communication and electric-electronic machinery and apparatuses (5.5%) and of non-metallic mineral products (3.6%), in the second one.

Among the sectors, considering the monthly index of February 2014, the total of salaried employed persons shrank in 13 of the 18 sectors surveyed. The highlights were the negative results from machinery and equipment (-5.6%), fabricated metal products (-6.2%), footwear and leather (-7.8%), communication and electric-electronic machinery and apparatuses (-6.5%), textiles (-4.8%) and means of transportation (-2.3%). On the other hand, the main positive impact on the average of the industry was seen in the sector of food and beverages (1.9%).

In the cumulative index over the first two months of the year, the industrial employment posted decrease of 2.0%, with negative rates in 11 of the 14 places and in 13 of the 18 sectors surveyed. Among the places, São Paulo (-3.2%) marked the main negative impact on the industry overall, followed by Rio Grande do Sul (-3.7%), Paraná (-2.6%), the Northeast Region
(-1.5%) and Minas Gerais (-1.1%). On the other hand, the North and Central-West Regions (0.9%) exerted the most important positive pressure on the cumulative index over the first two months of the year. Among the sectors, the main negative influences came from machinery and equipment (-5.6%), fabricated metal products (-6.1%), footwear and leather (-7.2%), communication and electric-electronic machinery and apparatuses (-5.6%), textiles (-5.3%) and means of transportation (-2.0%).

Number of hours paid is also stable

In February 2014, the number of hours paid to the industrial workers, seasonally adjusted, remained unchanged (0.0%) over the previous month, after accumulating a drop of 0.6% in November and December 2013 and posting a slightly positive change (0.1%) last January. The quarterly moving average also held steady (0.0%) in the quarter ended in February 2014 over the previous month's level, interrupting the downward trend started in May 2013.

The number of hours paid to the industrial workers, shrinking 2.1% in the monthly index of February 2014, recorded the ninth consecutive negative rate in this kind of comparison. In the cumulative index of the first two months of 2014, the number of hours paid in the industry fell 2.1%, repeating the magnitude of decline observed in the last quarter of 2013 (-2.1%), both comparisons made against the same period in the previous year. The annualized rate (index accumulated in the last 12 months), moving from –1.4% in January to –1.3% in February 2014, interrupted the downward trend started in September 2013 (-1.0%).

In February 2014, the number of hours paid shrank 2.1% in relation to the same month in the previous year, with negative rates in 11 of the 14 places and in 14 of the 18 sectors surveyed. Among the sectors, the main negative influences came from machinery and equipment (-6.7%), fabricated metal products (-7.5%), communication and electric-electronic machinery and apparatus (-7.7%), footwear and leather (-8.2%), means of transportation (-2.5%) and textiles (-4.7%). Conversely, the sectors of food and beverages (1.2%), non-metallic mineral products (2.9%), chemicals (2.7%) and of rubber and plastic (2.3%) registered the positive impacts this month.

Comparing with the same month a year ago, São Paulo (-3.2%) posted the main negative influence on the country overall in February 2014, pushed to a great extent by the reduction in the number of hours paid in the sectors of machinery and equipment (-10.9%), fabricated metal products (-14.9%), means of transportation (-4.7%), textiles (-9.0%), footwear and leather (-9.6%) and communication and electric-electronic machinery and apparatuses (-2.8%).

Other highlights are the negative impacts coming from Rio Grande do Sul (-4.9%), due to the drops seen in footwear and leather (-14.5%), machinery and equipment (-11.7%), communication and electric-electronic machinery and apparatuses (-14.6%), fabricated metal products (-6.7%) and basic metals (-13.3%); Paraná (-4.1%), explained to a great extent by the fall in the segments of  communication and electric-electronic machinery and apparatuses (-42.2%), fabricated metal products (-12.7%), other products of the manufacturing industry (-7.0%), wood (-8.9%) and wearing apparel (-4.5%); Northeast Region (-1.4%), with a highlight to the decreases in food and beverages (-2.5%), footwear and leather (-4.0%), mining and quarrying industries (-10.0%), textiles (-5.5%) and oil refining and ethanol production (-7.9%); and Minas Gerais (-1.6%), principally because of the drops in food and beverages (-4.0%), means of transportation (-5.7%), footwear and leather (-11.3%), communication and electric-electronic machinery and apparatuses (-3.8%), wearing apparel (-4.0%) and basic metals (-2.2%). On the other hand, the North and Central-West Regions (2.2%) exerted the main positive impacts on the total number of hours paid this month, especially leveraged by the expansion seen in the sector of food and beverages (3.9%),  non-metallic mineral products (11.0%) communication and electric-electronic machinery and apparatuses (5.7%) and machinery and equipment (11.8%).

In the cumulative index of the first semester of 2014, there was a downfall of 2.1% in the number of hours paid, with 14 of the 18 sectors surveyed reporting negative rates. The most relevant negative impacts on the global average of the industry were seen in machinery and equipment (- 6.0%), fabricated metal products (- 6.9%), communication and electric-electronic machinery and apparatuses (-6.9%), footwear and leather (-7.4%) and textiles (-5.8%). Conversely, the most relevant positive contribution to the total number of hours paid to the industry workers came from food and beverages (0.9%) and non-metallic mineral products (2.3%). Concerning the areas, 11 of the 14 places presented negative rates, with a highlight to the contraction of 3.2% observed in São Paulo, followed by the losses in Rio Grande do Sul (-4.2%), Paraná (-4.0%), the Northeast Region (-2.4%) and Minas Gerais (-2.2%). On the other hand, the North and the Central-West Regions (2.6%) recorded the most relevant positive rate in the first two months of 2014.

Real Payroll grows 1.6%

In February 2014, the value of the real payroll of the industrial workers (seasonally adjusted) advanced 1.6% compared with the preceding month, after a drop of 0.6% last January. It should be noted that there is a positive influence coming from the manufacturing industry (0.5%), since the mining and quarrying sector shrank 0.5%. In the seasonally adjusted series, the quarterly moving average index for the industry overall posted a positive change (0.4%) between the quarters ended in January and February of 2014 and kept the upward trend started last October.

Contrasting with the same month of the previous year, the real payroll rose by 2.5% in February 2014, the second consecutive positive result in this kind of comparison. In the cumulative index of the first two months of 2014, the value of the real payroll of the industry increased 3.1%, offsetting the 1.6% decline observed in the last quarter of 2013, both comparisons made against the same period in the previous year. The annualized rate, the cumulative index over the last twelve months, growing 1.6% in February 2014, repeated the index of last January.

In the comparison with the same month of the previous year, the value of the real payroll recorded an expansion of 2.5% in February 2014, with positive results in nine of the 14 places surveyed. The main negative impact was seen in São Paulo (3.1%), leveraged to a great extent by the positive rates in 12 of the 18 sectors surveyed, with a highlight to the expansion in the value of the real payroll in the industries of food and beverages (10.7%), communication and electric-electronic machinery and apparatuses (12.4%), machinery and equipment (2.6%), rubber and plastic (6.1%), basic metals (9.9%), means of transportation (1.4%) and wearing apparel (12.9%). It is also worth mentioning the positive results recorded by North and Central-West Regions (8.4%), Paraná (5.0%), Minas Gerais (1.5%) and Santa Catarina (3.1%), with the first place especially influenced by the rises seen in the sectors of non-metallic mineral products (109.4%), leveraged by profit sharing and by the results seen in an important enterprise of the sector, and food and beverages (7.6%); the second place was particularly impacted by the 27.9% growth registered by the segment of means of transportation; the third place was influenced by the expansion in mining and quarrying (6.7%), basic metals (5.6%) and non-metallic mineral products (15.4%); the last one grew especially due to advances in food and beverages (11.6%), wearing apparel (7.3%), rubber and plastic (7.4%), basic metals (9.0%), other products of the manufacturing industry (12.6%), wood (11.3%), textiles (3.5%) and non-metallic mineral products (5.4%). Conversely, the major negative influence occurred in Rio de Janeiro (-2.2%), mostly due to mining and quarrying industries (-6.4%), paper and press (-16.5%) and means of transportation (-6.7%).

Among the sectors, concerning the monthly index, the value of the real payroll in relation to the country’s overall grew in 13 of the 18 sectors surveyed, with a highlight to food and beverages (5.1%), non-metallic mineral products (13.8%), means of transportation (2.9%), basic metals (5.9%), rubber and plastic (4.6%), wearing apparel (5.1%), chemicals (2.0%), communication and electric-electronic machinery and apparatuses (2.1%) and mining and quarrying industries (1.1%). Conversely, the main negative impact was seen in the sector of paper and press (-4.4%).

In the cumulative indicator of the first two months of 2014, the value of the real payroll rose by 3.1%, with positive rates in eight of the 14 places surveyed. The main positive impact on the industry overall was registered by São Paulo (3.7%), followed by North and Central-West Regions (8.1%), Minas Gerais (4.0%), Paraná (5.2%) and Santa Catarina (4.1%). In contrast, the main negative impact was seen in the Northeast Region (-0.9%).

Among the sectors, in the cumulative index of the year, the value of the real payroll advanced in 14 of the 18 activities surveyed, pushed, to a great extent, by the gains coming from means of transportation (6.8%), food and beverages (4.6%), non-metallic mineral products (9.1%), rubber and plastic (6.1%), communication and electric-electronic machinery and apparatuses (4.0%), mining and quarrying industries (2.1%), basic metals (2.9%) and wearing apparel (4.1%). On the other hand, the sectors of paper and press (-1.0%), wood (-3.8%), machinery and equipment (-0.3%) and textiles (-0.1%) posted the negative rates in the cumulative index of the first two months of the year.