Child labour still a big problem

SAO PAULO (AP):A newspaper says that despite the economic advances achieved by Brazil over the past few years, children from low-income families are still forced to work in Latin America's biggest country.

The Folha de S.Paulo newspaper said yesterday that its analysis of preliminary 2010 census figures compiled by Brazil's government statistics agency shows that more than one million children between the ages of 10 and 14 were working last year.

The newspaper says that many cases of child labour are difficult to eradicate because most of them involve work as domestic help or on small family farms in remote regions.

The statistics agency known as IBGE said it could not immediately confirm the newspaper's report.