BRASILIA, July 28 (Xinhua) -- Brazil's economy lost 1,198,363 formal jobs in the first half of the year, the Economy Ministry said on Tuesday.

View of boxes belonging to employees of app-based food delivery platforms reading “The war continues, national strike” as they protest to demand better working conditions amid the COVID-19 pandemic, in Sao Paulo, Brazil ,on July 25, 2020. (Photo: AFP)

The figure is the result of 6,718,276 new hires and 7,916,639 layoffs over the six-month period due to the impact of the novel coronavirus on Latin America's largest economy.

However, Brazil's formal job market saw an improvement in June compared to May, with a 16 percent decrease in layoffs and a 24 percent increase in hires.

While June lost 10,984 jobs as a result of 895,460 hires and 906,444 layoffs, the number of jobs lost in May amounted to 350,303.

By the end of June, the total number of formal jobs in Brazil came to 37,611,260, with an average starting salary of around 1,696 reals (about 327 U.S. dollars) a month.

The agricultural sector fared the best in June, generating 36,836 jobs, followed by construction, which created 17,270 jobs.

In contrast, commerce and services fared the worst, losing 16,646 and 44,891 jobs, respectively.

Among Brazil's states, western Mato Grosso's employment picture was the best, with 6,709 new jobs, while Rio de Janeiro performed the worst, losing 16,801 jobs.