Rio de Janeiro, Nov 27 (EFE) Brazil’s unemployment rate fell to 7.5 percent in October, the lowest level of the year, the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, or IBGE, said.
The September unemployment rate, which was also down, had been 7.7 percent, the IBGE said Thursday.

The lowest unemployment rate in the past 12 months was the 6.8 percent registered in December.

The IBGE’s monthly report uses data from the six largest metropolitan areas - Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, Belo Horizonte, Porto Alegre and Recife - in Brazil.

The statistical trend in the unemployment rate “shows stability, with very small variations” from one month to another and compared to the same months in 2008, the IBGE said.

The “deceleration” of the labour market without reverses was due to the “loss of strength” during the financial crisis, IBGE employment statistics manager Cimar Azeredo said.

The average incomes of workers in Brazil’s six largest metro areas rose 3.2 percent last month, compared to October 2008, to 1,349 reais (about $781.50).