Brazil created 1.1 million new jobs in 2009, about 350,000 less than in 2008, said Minister of Labor Carlos Lupi in an interview with local press on Tuesday.
He attributed the drop to the effect of international financial crisis, but said the outcome was better than expected.
In January-November period, 1.4 million jobs were created, but in December, the layoffs of temporary workers should cut 300,000 jobs from the
total number.
"Every December we usually have layoffs of about 300,000. Therefore, in 2009 we expected to create news jobs of 1.1 million or 1.15 million," the minister said.
Despite the country's slumping economy, government measures to control inflation, increase of the purchasing power of the minimum wage earners and the domestic demand helped maintain job opportunities, Lupi said.
The country is expected to create 2 million new jobs in 2010, he said.