Brazil job growth down 26% in first half of 2012

Brazilian job growth slowed in the first six months of 2012, down 26 percent compared with the same period a year ago, the Labor Ministry said Monday. The world's sixth largest economy has been experiencing anemic growth since late last year due to the eurozone debt crisis and the sluggish US economy. The ministry said the number of formal jobs created in the first half of 2012 totaled 1.05 million, down from the 1.41 million created during the first six months of 2011. Still, the jobless rate stood at six percent, its lowest level in the past 10 years, largely due to strong service sector employment. In June, 120,440 formal jobs were created, the lowest level since 2009, according to data that included the private sector. The Brazilian government last week cut its economic growth forecast for this year from 4.5 percent to three percent due to the impact of the global slowdown. The figure was still higher than the 2.5 percent predicted by the Central Bank or analysts' expectations of 2.05 percent. Last year, the Brazilian economy grew just 2.7 percent after a strong 7.5 percent in 2010. With a population of 191 million, Brazil has an active workforce of 100 million people, including 54 percent who until 2009 had a formal job, according to the International Labor Organization.