BRASILIA, Dec 1 (Reuters) - The pace of expansion in Brazil’s manufacturing sector slowed in November from its record level the month before, a survey of purchasing managers’ activity showed on Tuesday, signaling the first slowdown in growth since April. Most of the key sub-indices, including employment, new orders and output, indicated slower growth, although new record high input and output prices showed that inflationary pressures fueled by the weak exchange rate continued to intensify. IHS Markit’s headline purchasing managers index (PMI) fell to 64.0 from 66.7 in October, which was the highest level since the index was first compiled in February 2006. A reading above 50.0 marks expansion, while a reading below signifies contraction. Brazilian manufacturing and industry have recovered from the worst of the COVID-19 crisis far quicker than the dominant services sector. Survey participants said they expect the sector to remain in rude health in the coming year. “Brazil’s manufacturing industry continued to enjoy robust growth in November. Monthly rates of expansion for new orders, output and input buying softened, but remained stronger than any seen prior to the COVID-19 outbreak,” said Pollyanna De Lima, Economics Associate Director at IHS Markit. “Firms were confident of a rise in production in the coming 12 months, a situation which underpinned another strong round of job creation as companies sought to expand capacity,” she added. The employment index slipped to 56.8 from a series high 58.2 in October. Lifted by the Brazilian real’s 30% slide against the dollar this year, the new export orders index rose to a series high of 55.3 from 54.2, IHS Markit said. The real’s weakness also pushed input costs and output prices to new highs. The input prices index rose to a record 90.8 from 89.5, and the output prices index inched up to 79.9 from 78.8. (Reporting by Jamie McGeever Editing by Dan Burns) Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.