Responsible for 33% of layoffs worldwide, Temer says he is focused on employment.

247 - Of every three unemployed people in the world in 2017, one will be Brazilian. In other words, even though Brazil has only 3% of the world's population, it will account for 33% of global job losses (read more). here).

Furthermore, the federal government delayed the January payment for Brazilians who lost their jobs at the end of last year (read more). here).

Despite these catastrophic figures, Michel Temer gave an interview to Reuters and said he was focused on recovering jobs.

By the way: 1,2 million Brazilians will be laid off this year, according to the ILO.

Read Temer's interview below:

By Lisandra Paraguassu and Anthony Boadle

BRASILIA (Reuters) - President Michel Temer stated on Monday that his biggest concern is unemployment, but admitted that the resumption of hiring may take time, since, even with the expected economic recovery, companies have idle capacity to fill before resuming hiring.

"We have to pay close attention to the issue of unemployment, that is the main concern, and this means economic growth," the president said in an interview with Reuters at the Planalto Palace. In the quarter ending in November, the latest data available, the country's unemployment rate was 11,9 percent, reaching a record 12,1 million people.

Optimistic, Temer is betting on a resumption of economic growth in the second half of this year, but admits that hiring is unlikely to return at the same pace.

"I think the country will start growing in the second half of this year," he said. "But let's not delude ourselves into thinking we'll have the solution to all the problems right now, for a very simple reason: many companies laid off workers, but many maintained their idle capacity."

"So, when growth resumes, initially companies start using this idle capacity, the workers who are already there, and then they begin hiring," he added.

"It is very likely that companies will utilize their idle capacity this semester, but we believe that, starting in the second half of the year or the middle of the second half, unemployment will begin to decrease and growth will come all at once."

Projections released on Monday point to positive GDP growth this year. The International Monetary Fund released an estimate of 0,2 percent growth on Monday, lower than its previous forecast of 0,5 percent. The Central Bank's Focus report, also released on Monday, maintains its projection of 0,5 percent expansion. The government had been working with growth of around 1 percent, after two consecutive years of significant declines.

In December, confidence indicators for the construction, services, and manufacturing sectors, as well as consumers, fell to their lowest level since mid-2016.

Despite these figures and the forecast of low growth this year, Temer denies that the economic recovery is taking longer than expected.

"I disagree that it's taking too long; we've been here for seven or eight months and we've already taken many measures. In fact, we were in a deep recession, and the first step is to get out of the recession. You only have growth outside of a recession."

The president also cites the drop in inflation and the reduction in interest rates as a victory for the government's economic policy.

"When we arrived here, the projected inflation was 10,7%, it fell to 6,29%. So in six months, inflation fell to 6,29%. Secondly, we have already made two interest rate reductions, which initially lowered by 0,50 points and now, to the surprise of many, by 0,75 points," he said. "When you reduce the possibility of higher inflation, you have a chance to reduce interest rates."

The president, who took over the country's leadership on an interim basis in May and definitively at the end of August last year, referred to the 2015 inflation rate, which was 10,67 percent, and the 2016 rate, which was 6,29 percent. Regarding interest rates, he cited the two 0,25 percentage point reductions in the basic rate by the Central Bank, in addition to the 0,75 percentage point cut made last week.

REFORMS

The government, Temer said, is finding ways to inject resources into the economy, such as releasing inactive FGTS accounts and reducing credit card interest rates, and is working on reforms, which are its priority.

The president admits that the proposed reforms are difficult, especially the pension reform, and that protests are expected, but that the opposition is not to the reform as a whole, but to certain points. According to the president, the government is willing to negotiate some issues, but the minimum retirement age of 65 is out of the question.

"Obviously, the age issue is difficult to negotiate. Age is fundamental to this reform," he stated. The government is willing to negotiate other controversial points that have already been cited by leaders in Congress as difficult to approve. Among them are the decoupling of the Continuous Benefit Payment—paid to people with disabilities—from the minimum wage adjustment and the requirement of 49 years of contributions for a worker to receive the maximum retirement benefit.

"In several countries, this has been the rule. You don't receive a full pension, you receive a partial pension. But this will be debated there. If Congress decides otherwise, it must be followed," he said.

Temer guaranteed that the pension reform, which will begin to be discussed in February in a special committee, will be approved this year. He also defended the discussion of the labor reform, which has already been presented by the government.

"This is a government of reforms, and being a government of reforms, it is a preparatory government for the government that will come in 2018," he stated.

Temer reiterated that he could not run for reelection in 2018, even if he manages to revive the economy and his party, the PMDB, asks him to accept the position.

"I only hope to fulfill this task and leave my successor to find a more peaceful country," he said.

He doesn't deny that the PMDB could present a name, but states that it's "too early for that" and points out that it has a broad base, from which more than one candidate could emerge. However, he predicted that the discussion will only come to light "around May of next year."

In a year that is expected to bring to light more plea bargains from Operation Lava Jato, which could directly affect the government's base, the president tried not to show concern about the effects the accusations might have on his administration.

When asked if there was a possibility that the investigations could destabilize his government, he replied: "Zero. There is not the slightest possibility of that."

The information revealed so far from the Odebrecht construction company's plea bargain testimonies points to several individuals accused of irregularities, including some names close to Temer, among them the former Minister of the Government Secretariat, Geddel Vieira Lima, the Minister of the Civil House, Eliseu Padilha, and the Executive Secretary of the Investment Partnerships Program, Wellington Moreira Franco. All deny involvement.

In the international arena, Temer dismissed the possibility that the government might face difficulties with the mandate of the United States president-elect, Donald Trump. According to the president, relations between the countries are institutional.

He also said that, although Trump has not admitted it, so far he has not seen "any gesture that would compromise American investment here in Brazil."

(Reporting by Maria Pia Palermo and Daniel Flynn)