MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Unemployment in Brazil falls slightly in July to 12.3%

Job gains have been mostly concentrated in off-the-books employment, which offers less benefits such as scheduled pay raises.

Brazil's unemployment rate dipped slightly in July, as expected, extending a slow and bumpy labor market recovery as pivotal presidential elections loom.

The jobless rate fell to 12.3% in the three months through July, government statistics agency IBGE said on Thursday, matching the median forecast of economists.

The rate was 12.4% in the three months through June.

Job gains have been mostly concentrated in off-the-books employment, which offers less benefits such as scheduled pay raises.

This has helped to keep a lid on wages, which for months have remained flat when adjusted for inflation.

That is likely to keep a lid on inflation and allow the central bank to refrain from raising interest rates even as the Brazilian currency fell to a 2-1/2 year low, according to economists.