(Bloomberg) -- Brazil's economy created a record number of jobs in September as massive government spending sustained output and demand after the coronavirus pandemic spread to the region.
The country's labor market added 313,564 net formal jobs last month, the Economy Ministry reported Thursday. That surpassed even the most optimistic forecast from 20 economists surveyed by Bloomberg and compares to a median estimate of 242,500. It was the third straight positive result and represents the biggest one-month gain since the Labor Ministry began the series in 1992.
Economic activity in Brazil is bouncing back stronger than in other emerging peers even as the coronavirus outbreak has led to 160,000 deaths and helped push Latin America's biggest economy into a record plunge. The formal labor market was underpinned by a government job protection program, with the surge seen in September's headline number also reflected in every sector of the economy and every state in the nation.
According to Economy Minister Paulo Guedes, the result supports the view that the economy is on the path of a sharp “v-shaped” recovery from the bottom in April. Despite the silver linings, the full national unemployment report, scheduled to be published Friday, is expected to show that joblessness rose to a record in August, as the data also accounts for informal market and self-employed.
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