Economic and labor sizes from the Brazilian timber housing production sector

Abstract

Brazilian timber housing producers were evaluated through a survey, which was based on face-to-face interviewing supported by a semi-structured questionnaire. Derived from expansive research, this paper aimed to identify labor size and to characterize economic size from this production sector. The sampling process evaluated 50.95% (n = 107) of all producers (n = 210) whose performance was considered close to ideal. This sector is mostly concentrated in micro and small-scale companies, though a small portion of medium-sized companies owned by sole proprietors, families, or small groups of entrepreneurs does exist. Due to compact sizing, no producer was classified as an industry or a large corporation. The main contrast was indicated by the number of direct jobs, whose estimation was about 3,700 workers for the whole studied sector, representing 1% of the overall Brazilian timber industry. Around 95% of timber housing producers are considered micro or small from a labor perspective. Unprecedented information could support discussions for the creation of assertive public policies.