Brazil reported the creation of 644 thousand new formal job posts, up 21.63 percent from 2018. It is the highest figure in absolute numbers since 2013, as per official figures.

The data released today (Jan. 24) show that formal employment totaled 39 million posts, compared to 38.4 million the year before.

All eight sectors of the economy saw a positive balance last year, chief among them services, which reported the generation of 382.5 thousand openings. Trade registered 145.4 thousand new posts, and construction 71.1 thousand. The lowest performance was public administration, with 822 new jobs.