Unemployment rate shows first signs of receding

Brazil’s unemployment rate reached 13.7 percent in the quarter ended in July, 1 percentage point below the previous rolling three-month period, according to data released by national statistics bureau IBGE. That means that some 676,000 Brazilians are no longer unemployed, but the 14.1 million citizens still looking for a job is 7.6 percent higher than the total recorded one year ago.

Meanwhile, the improvement in unemployment rates was followed by a record spike (4.7 percent) in the number of self-employed Brazilians, a group now comprising 25.2 million people. The number is 17.6 percent above the same period in 2020. 

Amid the seemingly positive data, the proportion of underemployed Brazilians (working fewer hours than they are able to or wish to) reached an all-time record, while informality levels jumped 1 percent on the previous quarter, now reaching 40.8 percent of all employed individuals.

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