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UN study finds Brazil's working conditions unsatisfactory

Published: 08 Sep 2008 18:49:51 PST

RIO DE JANEIRO, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- A UN study released Monday pointed out that Brazil's current working conditions remain poor, though the country has registered a significant improvement in the past decade.

According to the study, Brazil witnessed economic growth at the beginning of the decade which led to an increasing number of available jobs and a growth of workers' average incomes.

But the study also finds that wage differences between men and women, blacks and non-blacks are still high.

In 2006, the average income of non-black women in Brazil was 524.6 reais (327.8 U.S. dollars), while that of black women was 367.2 reais (229.5 dollars). The average income of black men in 2006 was 451.1 reais (281.9 dollars), while that of non-black men was 724.4 reais (452.75 dollars).

In addition, Brazilians aged between 16 and 24 face more difficulties in finding a job than any other age group, the study finds.

The study also shows that there are still 2.4 million children and teenager (aged 5-15) laborers in Brazil, even though the number fell by 50 percent from 1992 to 2006.