Today's Word Is Productivity

Today's word is productivity: what you make in an hour. Professor Wobble: Brazil's new forty-hour week, and industry counted the cost. Bitsy: how much? Why? Up to 7% more on every payroll, R$178 to R$267 billion a year, the industry confederation estimates; same pay, fewer hours, so each hour must make more. Mort: industry's own study says catching up could take seventeen to thirty years; the Senate says employers should plan and get efficient. Brought to you by the number seven percent.

Brazil's industry lobby has put a price on the 40-hour week the Senate passed on October 14: the CNI estimates it would add R$178 billion to R$267 billion a year to formal payroll costs, up to 7%, hitting hardest the small firms that hold 52% of formal jobs, and its study says replacing the lost 7.8% of hours would need an 8.3% to 8.5% rise in output per hour, which at Brazil's historic 0.5% a year could take 17 to 30 years; the Senate's answer is that employers should adapt with planning and a focus on efficiency.

Starring

PipProfessor WobbleBitsyMort