Productivity in Brazilian industry grows a mere 6.6% in 11 years

Brazil's industrial productivity—how much is produced during a work hour—grew an average of merely 0.6% a year from 2002 to 2012. The country lags behind the other 11 nations surveyed: South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, the US, Japan, Spain, Germany, France, Australia, Canada, and Italy. Data were released by the National Confederation of Industry (CNI) on Monday (Feb 23).

South Korea stands at the top of the list, with an increase of 6.7% a year, while the US is  seen with 4.4%. From 2002 to 2012, Brazil's accumulated growth rate is reported at 6.6%.

Economist Renato Fonseca, CNI manager for research and competitiveness, ascribes Brazil's poor figures to the low quality of the Brazilian workforce and the insignificant investment in the country. “Ever since 2010, the Brazilian economy has barely grown,” he added.

The confederation further stated that the confidence felt by Brazilian industry investors plunged in February 2015, reaching a new record low in the historic series initiated in 1999. The Industry Investor's Confidence Rate (ICEI) registered a 12.2-point decline in the last 12 months, revealing a widespread opinion among entrepreneurs in the sector that the current situation is deteriorating.

The Rate of Expectations, in turn, was 44.1 points, down 4.6 points in February, and indicates pessimism for the six coming months. The scale goes from 0 to 100 and expectations are classified as optimistic when the rate stands above 50.

Translated by Fabrício Ferreira