Brazil Jobless Rate Rises To 6.8%

(RTTNews) - Brazil's unemployment rate decreased in the three months ending February, figures from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, or IBGE, showed on Friday.

The jobless rate climbed to 6.8 percent in the December-February period from 6.5 percent in the November-January period.

This was the lowest unemployment rate for a quarter ending in July last year, when it was the same 6.8 percent.

In the corresponding period last year, the unemployment rate was 7.8 percent.

The number of unemployed people was 7.5 million, rising by 10.4 percent, or 701,000 people, compared to the previous quarter.