Brazil creates fewer formal jobs than expected in February

BRASILIA, March 31 (Reuters) - Brazil's economy created a net 255,321 formal jobs in February, data from the Labor Ministry showed on Tuesday, below the 270,150 expected by economists in a Reuters poll.

• The net figure accounts for 2,381,767 jobs opened and 2,126,446 closed during the period, the ministry said.

• It was the highest net formal job creation for any month since February last year, when Brazil created 440,432 jobs.

• In the first two months of the year, a net of 370,339 formal jobs were created in Brazil, a 37.8% decline year-over-year.