After three months of stability, Brazil’s unemployment rate has resumed its downward trajectory, closing the quarter ending in October at a historic low of 5.4%, according to data released by the IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics). This figure marks the lowest recorded unemployment rate in the continuous series of the National Household Sample Survey (PNAD Contínua), which began in 2012.
Unemployment at its Lowest
The unemployment rate ended the quarter at its lowest level ever, indicating that 5.4% of Brazilians sought professional placement without success between August and October. This rate continues the downward trend from last year, when the unemployment rate for the same period was 6.2%.
Approximately 5.9 million Brazilians are currently searching for employment. This figure represents a new low in the historical series, dipping below the 6.05 million recorded in September. In October of last year, 6.7 million individuals were looking for work.
Record Levels of Employment
The total number of employed individuals in the country remained stable at a record high of 102.5 million, the largest figure since the survey began in 2012. Concurrently, the employment rate, which measures the percentage of occupied individuals in the working-age population, stood at 58.8%.
“The high number of occupied individuals in recent quarters contributes to the reduction of pressure to seek employment, and as a result, the unemployment rate continues to decrease, reaching the lowest value in the historical series this quarter.”
– Adriana Beringuy, coordinator of the PNAD
Formal Employment Continues to Grow
The number of employees with formal, signed work contracts maintained its record level, with the IBGE identifying 39.182 million formally employed workers. Although this number showed stability for the quarter, it represents a 2.4% increase (an additional 927,000 people) compared to the same period last year. The number of employees in the public sector (12.9 million) also remained stable for the quarter but rose by 2.4% (an additional 298,000 people) year-over-year.
Wages on the Rise
The average remuneration for Brazilian workers reached a historic high for the quarter, averaging BRL 3,528. This is a 0.8% increase from the previous quarter’s BRL 3,500 and 3.86% higher than the BRL 3,397 recorded in the same period last year.
The field of information, communication, and financial, real estate, professional, and administrative activities saw a rise of 3.9%, equivalent to an additional BRL 190.
This positive economic data reflects a robust labor market in Brazil, with both employment and average wages reaching record levels. The decrease in unemployment and the stability of the number of employed individuals highlight the ongoing strength of the Brazilian job market.
Source: UOL
