(Bloomberg) -- Brazil’s jobless rate ticked up less than expected last month, likely adding to central bankers’ concerns that the labor market is running too hot.

Official data released Tuesday showed the unemployment rate rose to 7.9% in March from a month earlier, below the 8.1% median estimate from analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Some 8.6 million people were jobless in the period.

The central bank plans to lower the benchmark interest rate by half-point next month and is keeping a close eye on hiring as it charts its subsequent moves. The labor market has proved resilient to high borrowing costs, which are damping overall economic growth, and stoking prices of services as well as concern that inflation could pick up again.

Read More: Brazil Inflation Slows Again, But Central Bank Still Worried

While the unemployment rate has edged up for three consecutive months, economists caution many of the job losses are the result of seasonal factors. The lingering pressure has the potential to slow the pace of intrest rate cuts from the central bank, which has so far reduced the Selic by 3 percentage points to 10.75% since it started its easing campaign last August.

--With assistance from Giovanna Serafim.

©2024 Bloomberg L.P.