Brazil’s unemployment rate at lowest quarterly level since 2012
The unemployment rate of 6.6 percent recorded in the quarter ending in April is the lowest for the period since 2012, when the Continuous National Household Sample Survey (Pnad) began. In April last year, for example, the rate stood at 7.5 percent.
According to the Pnad survey, conducted by the Brazilian government’s statistics agency IBGE, the unemployment rate has been falling in annual comparisons for 46 consecutive quarters—that is, since the quarter ending in July 2021.
In the past 12 months, every quarter recorded its lowest unemployment rate since 2012—this applies to the quarters ending in April and March this year, as well as those from July to December 2024—or since 2014, in the cases of January, February, May, and June 2024.
Another positive indicator from IBGE is the average worker’s income, which reached BRL 3,426—the highest level ever for a quarter ending in April and for any comparable quarter in the historical series (those ending in January, July, and October).
Informality
The country’s labor market recorded an informality rate of 37.9 percent in the quarter ending in April, down from 38.3 percent in the previous quarter (ending in January) and 38.7 percent in the same period last year.
IBGE reports that there were 39.2 million informal workers in the quarter ending in April, out of a total of 103.3 million employed in the country during the period. Informality includes workers without a formal contract, employees without an EIN (Employer Identification Number), employers without an EIN, and unpaid family workers.
Both quarterly and annual comparisons showed stability in jobs without a formal contract (in the private sector and domestic services) and in jobs without an EIN. Thus, the decline in informality was driven by growth in formal employment.
Workers with formal contracts increased by 0.8 percent in the quarter and 3.8 percent over the year, IBGE reported.
“The labor market is absorbing [workers] and remains strong and resilient, keeping people employed and improving quality. Only the population with formal employment contracts is growing,” explains IBGE researcher William Kratochwill.
Sectors
In the quarterly comparison, only the public istration, defense, social security, education, human health, and social services sector grew (2.2%), while all other sectors remained stable.
In the annual comparison, the following sectors saw growth: general industry (3.6%), trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (3.7%), transport, storage and mail (4.5%), information, communication and financial, real estate, professional and istrative activities (3.4%), and public istration, defense, social security, education, human health, and social services (4%). Meanwhile, agriculture, livestock, forestry, fishing, and aquaculture declined by 4.3 percent.
Underutilization
The underutilized population—that is, the unemployed plus those working less than they could—stood at 18 million, remaining stable compared to the previous quarter and down 10.7 percent from last year.
The composite underutilization rate (15.4%) was stable in the quarter and fell year-on-year (17.4%).
The discouraged population—those who wanted to work and were available but did not look for work for various reasons—stood at 3.1 million, remaining stable over the quarter and down 11.3 percent year-on-year. The percentage of discouraged individuals (2.7%) also remained stable in the quarter and fell from 3.1 percent over the year.
