The agribusiness of Rio Grande do Sul presented positive balance of formal jobs in January. The number of admissions (20,713) was higher than that of dismissals (10,431), resulting in the creation of 10,282 jobs with a formal contract. In comparison with the same period of previous years, the figures show that the creation of jobs in January 2018 was a record. The data were released this Thursday (8) by the Foundation of Economy and Statistics.
Compared to December 2017, the data represents a 3.2% increase in the sector’s estimated stock of jobs. According to economist Rodrigo Feix, coordinator of the Center for Agribusiness Studies, this positive variation in agribusiness jobs is typical in the first quarter of the year. “This phenomenon can be explained, above all, by the mobilization of labor for the summer harvest. Thus, a significant portion of the contracting is carried out for a fixed time, which defines the reduction of admissions and the occurrence of negative balances from the second quarter of each year, “he says.
The job creation movement in January was determined, mainly, by the performance of the “inside the door” segment, formed by activities characteristic of agriculture and livestock. The sectors with the largest vacancies were those producing permanent crops (6,787 jobs) and temporary crops (710 jobs). Feix points out that the permanent crop sector was influenced by the seasonality of the apple crop, which in the first months of the year demands labor for the harvest, especially in the regions of Serra and Campos de Cima da Serra. In the municipality of Vacaria alone, 5,538 jobs were created with a formal contract signed in January. In the area of temporary crops, the advance in the development of summer agricultural crops also accelerated the pace of contracting, especially in the cultivation of cereals and soybeans.
In the “after the door” segment, composed predominantly of agroindustrial activities, there were also job creation (2739 jobs). The sectors that contributed the most to this result were the wholesale trade in agricultural and agroindustrial products (861 jobs), the manufacture of tobacco products (845 jobs) and the manufacture of alcoholic beverages (354 jobs). In January, the negative highlight in this segment was the canning industry, which registered the loss of 153 jobs in Rio Grande do Sul.
The only segment of the gaucho agribusiness with job losses in January was the “before the door”, consisting of activities dedicated to the supply of inputs, machinery and equipment for agriculture and livestock. Thirty-five jobs were lost in this segment, mainly due to the performance of the sector of seed production and certified seedlings (less 125 posts). In the agricultural machinery and equipment manufacturer sector, which offers the highest average remuneration, there was the fifth consecutive reduction in the number of workers employed with a formal contract (less 15 jobs). In the “before the door” segment, the only sector with significant job creation was feed manufacturing, with a balance of 65 jobs in January.
The researcher warns, however, that despite having registered the largest job creation with a formal contract in January since the beginning of the historical series calculated by the FEE, the analysis of the economic conjuncture indicates that it is a seasonal movement, in keeping with the characteristics of the productive structure of the state of Rio Grande do Sul. “Due to climatic factors that have reduced yields per unit area, it is possible to forecast that agricultural production in RS and Brazil will decline in 2018. If this forecast is confirmed, its potential impacts on industrial chains upstream and downstream of agriculture and livestock, whether in terms of production or generation of jobs, can not be ignored, “Feix says.