The 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil is generating around one million jobs in the country.

The number of jobs created by the World Cup is equivalent to over 15 per cent of the 4.8 million formal jobs registered during the first term of president Dilma Rousseff.

“We are celebrating this extremely significant result.

“It marks an extraordinary human legacy,” said Embratur president Vicente Neto during a press conference today at the João Saldanha Open Media Centre, in the Copacabana Fort in Rio de Janeiro.

The data comes from a study commissioned by the ministry of tourism from the Institute of Economic Research Foundation.

The study makes a comparison between the projected impacts of the World Cup and the information from the General Registry of Employed and Unemployed People relating to records from January 2011 to March 2014.

Of the total number of jobs associated with the World Cup, 710,000 are permanent and 200,000 are temporary, and all are in the official labour market, according to the president of Embratur.

“These are significant numbers for any comparison,” said Neto.

In the tourist area alone, a total of 50,000 new jobs were created as a result of this sporting event, a legacy considered very important by the president of Embratur.

During the press conference Neto mentioned another positive World Cup statistic: the occupation rate in hotels in the 12 host cities during the first week of the World Cup was 45 per cent higher than expected, according to sector authorities.

By June 11th a total of 340,000 daily bookings had been recorded, 100,000 more than expected by the Brazilian Forum of Hotel Operators.

“These results are exceeding expectations,” said the Embratur president.

According to Neto, holding major events like the World Cup is expected to help promote Brazil as a leading tourist destination internationally, stimulating the creation of jobs and generating income for the country.

Among the main positive impacts expected for the World Cup is spending by tourists during the event.

Overall, the World Cup should contribute around R$30 billion to the Brazilian economy, according to research from the Institute of Economic Research Foundation commissioned by the Ministry of Tourism.

Neto stressed Brazil’s impressive international performance in hosting major events.

The country rose ten positions in the ranking of the International Congress and Convention Association between 2003 and 2013, jumping from 19th to 9th position among the countries that host the most congresses and conventions.

The total number of events held in Brazil during this period leaped from 62 to 315 and the number of cities hosting these events rose from 22 to 54.

This evolution is the result of policies to decentralise the process of attracting international events to the country.