Uruguayan Economy Grows

Montevideo, Dec 27. -Uruguay will report a per capita income of nearly 15,000 dollars a year in 2011.Fernando Lorenzo, the minister of Economy and Finances (MEF), said the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will increase 6 percent, and estimated that it will grow up to 4 percent a year in the future, more than twice if compared with previous statistics.

Lorenzo added that over 50 percent of economic growth was based on improvement of productivity.

"We no longer talk about low levels of job creation. We now talk about insufficient human resources to meet the challenges," he said.

One of Uruguay's current challenges is the need for a better infrastructure.

The country reports the highest employment levels and the lowest unemployment rate (6 percent).

The Uruguayan fiscal deficit will be under 1.5 percent, and the country has created 14,000 jobs, a consequence of greater economic activity.

Uruguay reported an accumulated inflation of 6.3 percent over the past 12 months, and salaries increased 3 percent during the same period, official sources said.

The country reduced the percentage of poor people from 18 to 14 percent in 2011, to about 460,000 people.

The increase in the minimum wage, and more jobs and formalization of labor contributed to improving access to a better standard of living. (Prensa Latina)