Job creation in Brazil slows down in March

Brazil added 136,200 new formal jobs in March, according to the Labor Ministry. Despite the positive balance, the result continues to show a slowdown in the Brazilian labor market, with a lower number of hirings and a drop in average wages.

March results were also worse than those of March 2021 — which saw the creation of over 153,400 jobs. 

The service sector was, once again, the one which added new jobs more than any other (111,500), although at a slower pace than in previous months. The agribusiness sector, on the other hand, lost a net 16,000 positions. The average entry-level wage sat at BRL 1,872.07 (USD 373), down 7.2 percent from a year earlier.

In Q1 2022, Brazil added 615,200 jobs across all sectors — that is a poorer performance than in Q1 2021, while Brazil was facing one of the most severe moments of the pandemic. As we explained in today’s Brazil Daily newsletter, consultancy Austin Rating estimates Brazil’s unemployment rate as among the world’s 10 worst — based on the latest IMF projections for the global economy.

For the Labor Ministry, the deceleration of both vacancies and wages this year is natural after the economic recovery in 2021. In addition, the ministry also claims that formal employment data should be more in line with the country’s economic growth for this year. Market analysts’ projections compiled in the Central Bank’s Focus Report point out that the national GDP should grow 0.65 percent this year.

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