BRASILIA: Brazil's manufacturing activity slumped in April, prompting firms to cut jobs at the sharpest pace on record as the recession worsened, a private survey showed on Monday.
The Purchasing Managers' Index compiled by research firm Markit fell to a seasonally adjusted 42.6 in April, the lowest since 2009, from 46.0 in March.
For the 15th straight month, the headline PMI index remained below the 50 threshold that indicates activity has contracted.
"Manufacturers braced themselves for tougher times and shed jobs at the fastest pace in the history of the survey, with many indicating that costs had to be slashed if they wanted to stay in business," said Markit economist Pollyana de Lima.
Brazil's economy is expected to contract nearly 4 percent for a second straight year in 2016 as a ballooning budget deficit and a corruption scandal put President Dilma Rousseff on the brink of impeachment.
Years of job losses in Brazil's manufacturing sector contributed to a sharp increase in Brazil's unemployment rate. Joblessness hit 10.9 percent in the first quarter as more than 11 million workers unsuccessfully looked for a job, according to government data on Friday.
The only bright spot in the PMI manufacturing survey was an increase in export orders, the fifth in a row, mostly due to a sharp currency drop last year. However, the Brazilian real has rebounded recently on hopes of a market-friendly government by Rousseff's likely successor, Michel Temer, and hit an eight-month high on Friday.
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