Civil construction expects more hiring with changes in housing programme

The new measures announced this Monday (6) for the Minha Casa, Minha Vida (“My House, My Life”) affordable housing programme, aimed at reducing Brazil’s housing deficit, are expected to have a direct impact in the country's economy. In a interview to Portal Planalto, the president of the Brazilian Real Estate Developers Association (Abrainc), Rubens Menin, pointed out that the contracting of 610,000 new housing units will affect the entire civil construction chain and create jobs.

“There is no economic growth in Brazil without the growth of civil construction. The construction sector represents 8% of GDP and is the one that employs the most people. This [the new set of measures] will have a great impact in the economy, social development and, evidently, employment" said Menin. “This is a very important pillar for the country to start growing sustainably again, creating jobs and fostering social development; home ownership is social development”, he added.

The sector's potential to rekindle the economy was also pointed out by the vice-president of the Brazilian Civil Construction Chamber (CBIC), Betinha Nascimento. “Today, the civil construction sector is the one that can provide the most immediate response. It starts with sand, cement and gravel. It is the 'one-thousand-items chain'. It is a segment that affects the whole market", she stated.

Betinha also highlights that the contracting of new housing units creates an immediate need for new workers. “In addition to the workers directly employed by the sector, there is also the creation of indirect jobs.”.

In addition to the new houses that can now be built under the programme, the government has also adjusted the maximum monthly income brackets for eligibility of families to the different modalities of the Minha Casa Minha Vida (the lower the bracket, the higher the subsidy): from R$ 2,350.00 to R$ 2,600.00 for bracket 1.5; from R$ 3,600.00 to R$ 4,000.00 for bracket 2; and from R$ 6,500.00 to R$ 9,000 for bracket 3. The amount of FGTS (Guarantee Fund for Length for Service) proceeds that can be used in the operations was also increased, reaching as much as R$ 240,000 in some regions of the country.

In order to arrive at the new income brackets and property values, the government went through an active discussion with representatives of the sector, which helped solve the housing programme’s deadlocks in relation to contracting.

“The final project wet through a lot of discussions and was well thought out. It is the appropriate solution for the moment. We worked a lot on the bottlenecks to undo the deadlocks. Therefore, all of this was discussed and, importantly, the solution is sustainable", stated Rubens Menin.