The economic activity in Brazil fell 5.9% in March, showed IBC-Br, a Central Bank indicator that closely follows the official GDP variation rates in the country. At the same time, unemployment increased in 12 of 27 Brazilian states, reported official figures.

The activity index also revealed a contraction of 1.95% in the first quarter of the year. According to Reuters, it was the most intense negative result in the historical series of the IBC-Br, which began in 2003.

The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE, its acronym in Portuguese) will release GDP data for the first quarter on May 29.

Although the closure of industries and companies in Brazil, in addition to stay-at-home determinations, already affected the economy from the second half of March, the impacts must be even more pronounced in April.

Brazil’s industrial production plunged 9.1% in March compared to the previous month, indicating even more losses for the following month. The service sector showed the greatest drop in the historical series in the face of social isolation: 6.9% in relation to February.

Unemployment increased in 12 states in Brazil during the first quarter of 2020, IBGE informed. In the other 14 states plus the Federal District, where the capital Brasília is located, the unemployment rate remained stable.

Brazil ended the first quarter of this year with 1.218 million more people without a job, as the unemployment rate increased to 12.2%.