The combination of high inflation with layoffs and wage loss caused a downturn of unprecedented proportions in disposable income for consumption in Brazil. The Monthly Employment Survey (PME) of IBGE shows that real wages decreased by 10% between November 2014, peak of recent years, and last May. In the crisis of 2003, a decline of this magnitude happened after eight months of deterioration in the labor market. In the 2009 crisis, despite the recession, there was no drop in payrolls of this magnitude.
The decline is highlighted in part because of the seasonality for jobs. November is traditionally a strong month in terms of jobs created for the end of the year. Adjusting for seasonality, the drop indicates a nominal income 4.7% lower. In this series, the largest and only previous loss (considering the clipping six months) was 2.8% between April and October 2003.
While some of the effects of this drop in disposable income is already affecting the economy, the spiral effect that it can cause is probably just starting and will affect the Brazilian economy more heavily in the second half and into 2016.
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