BRASILIA, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- The employment rate in Brazil went up for the fourth consecutive month in July, with a 0.11 percent increase compared to the previous month, the Ministry of Economy said on Friday.

According to the General Registry of Admitted and Laid-Off Workers, there were 1,331,189 new hirings in July against 1,287,369 job losses, which resulted in a positive balance of 43,820 new jobs.

The first seven months of the year also registered a positive balance, the report said, with 461,411 new jobs created, a 2.93 percent increase compared to the same period in 2018.

Seven out of eight economic sectors had a positive balance.

The sectors that generated the most jobs were civil construction, with 18,721 new hirings, services (8,948), trade (4,887), agriculture and livestock (4,645).

Only the public administration sector had a negative balance, with 315 job losses.