Trade

According to the CNC, 74,100 temporary vacancies are to be opened during the holidays, 10% more than last year

Christmas 2017 may be the best of the last five years. Survey by the National Confederation of Commerce of Goods, Services and Tourism (CNC) shows that the expected increase in sales in the period is 5.2% in relation to the same period of 2016, with a turnover of R $ 34.9 billion.

It is also estimated that 74.1 thousand temporary vacancies were opened during the holidays, 10% more than last year.

The projection for Christmas of 2017 was corrected by the CNC in early December, reflecting the warming of trade still higher than initially expected. According to CNC economist Fábio Bentes, the expected positive result is due to the fall in inflation and interest rates and the recovery of employment, which allows the worker to spend a little more with supper and gifts.

"It will be a better Christmas because consumption is reacting favorably. 2017 was a year of lower inflation, less than half of last year. So, interest rates are getting smaller, "he said.

Among the branches that should have the best billings are hyper and supermarkets, with a third of total spending (R $ 11.8 billion), and clothing and footwear, with 29.5% (R $ 9.0 billion). The expenses of Brazilians will be more intense in these two segments, explains Bentes, due to inflation lower than the average of the economy.

This year, all important commemorative dates, such as Mother's Day, Parents' Day and Children's Day, have resulted in good business for the last year due to the better performance of the national economy. "Of those dates, Christmas is the one that carries the highest degree of optimism, because at this moment the interest rates are even lower than at the beginning of the year," says the expert.

Source: Government of Brazil, with CNC information