beyondbrics

Three hundred years ago they were forcing them to work on the fields in the blistering sun with little food. Now they’re building their football stadiums.

New data from Brazil’s labour ministry shows a huge surge in the number of Portuguese workers who are coming back to their former colony, desperately in search of jobs.

The number of two-year work visas given to Portuguese nationals more than tripled in the first nine months of this year from the same period in 2010, while authorisations for permanent visas surged 69 per cent. It’s not just the Portuguese either. The Brazilian government said it
issued over 51,000 work visas in the first nine months of this year, up 33 per cent from the same period of 2010.

And there’s certainly a lot for these new arrivals to do.

According to a study by the National Confederation of Industry published earlier this year, 89 per cent of civil construction companies are facing problems because of a lack of qualified workers in the sector.

Furthermore, Brazil is already behind on the key infrastructure projects it desperately needs in time for the World Cup in 2014 and the Olympics two years later.

Rio de Janeiro’s huge oil reserves in the so-called ‘pre-salt’ region will also require huge amounts of manpower and expertise if they are to yield the riches the government has promised.

Engineers are in dangerously short supply, banks are crying out for experienced executives, and even getting a cleaner or someone to do some wiring in your apartment is a difficult task nowadays.

Brazil may indeed be facing a sharp slowdown, but with record-low unemployment and expected economic growth of 3 per cent this year, it’s still a better option than queuing for unemployment benefits in Lisbon, it seems.

Related links
Jobless Portugese find work in Brazil, FT
Brazil’s inflation: down to the wire, beyondbrics
Brazil’s rapid growth shudders to a halt, FT