Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said this Friday (30) that the drop in the unemployment rate in the country favors the rise in optimism in economic sectors. 
“I am very pleased to have reached this point with the results we are achieving. It is nice to see the employment and inflation data, that discomfort index, which is the sum of inflation and unemployment. The fact that it is the lowest in the historical series makes anyone happy,” he said, while participating in an investment event tonight in the capital of São Paulo. “I am very happy with the results and I see this expressed in the way people are talking about the prospects for the Brazilian economy. I think people are becoming more optimistic, with businesspeople announcing investments at every meeting I attend,” he added.
The unemployment rate, also known as the jobless rate, has fallen to 6.8% in the quarter ending in July this yearbelow the 7.9% in the same period in 2023. The indicator was also lower than that observed in the quarter ended in April this year (7.5%). The data, released this Friday (30), are from the Continuous National Household Sample Survey (Pnad), released this Friday (30), in Rio de Janeiro, by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE).
Interest rate drop
Regarding the drop in interest rates, the Finance Minister said that the latest cuts by the Federal Reserve (FED, the central bank of the United States) and the Bank of Japan brought uncertainty to emerging countries, but he is confident that the Selic rate will be reduced.
“I am confident that [a condição para queda nos juros] delayed, but the good winds from outside will knock on our door. And we need to be prepared so as not to interrupt this growth cycle [da economia] which can be sustainable if we don’t make mistakes domestically,” he added.
Expense review
Haddad also stated that spending cuts in 2025 will focus on a thorough review of benefit records.
“If we don’t correct these small flaws, which could mean ten or twenty billion reais, we will start to have a bottleneck. We are already having a bottleneck in hiring labor,” he said.
This week, the economic team announced the cut of around R$26 billion in spending in the 2025 Budget. The main measure is to improve management and reduce fraud.
