Brazil unemployment rises to 6.7% in May

Brazil's unemployment rate rose to 6.7 percent in May, up from 6.4 percent, officials said Wednesday -- a new five-year high and added bad news for the world's seventh-largest economy.

It was the fifth straight month of rising unemployment, which stood at 4.8 percent at the end of last year.

Brazil's central bank cut its 2015 economic growth outlook Wednesday, predicting the economy would contract by 1.1 percent this year.

It forecast inflation would come in at nine percent for the year -- twice its target -- and hinted it would continue raising the key interest rate, which stands at 13.75 percent after six consecutive hikes.

Brazil's economy registered 0.1 percent growth last year, its fourth sluggish year in a row and a sharp drop from the 7.6 percent it posted in 2010.

The fall in global commodity prices, a fiscal deficit, a weak currency and rising unemployment are all hurting the economy.

President Dilma Rousseff's government has introduced spending cuts of more than $23 billion in a bid to get its books in order. It is meanwhile seeking to stimulate the economy with $64 billion in infrastructure spending.