The Case of the Missing Hours

Inspector Hale: Brazil's forty-hour week, and industry says up to 7% more payroll, R$178 to R$267 billion a year by its own February estimate. The Ledger: same pay, fewer hours, so each hour must yield 8.5% more; at Brazil's half a percent a year, the lobby's study says, that takes seventeen to thirty years. Nightjar: industry's number, the Senate's law. Wren: thirty years, or planning and efficiency, depending who's asked.

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

Inspector HaleWrenThe LedgerNightjar