Brazilians file over 960,000 new unemployment claims in May

Brazilians workers have filed 960,258 new unemployment benefit claims in May — an all-time record, and a 28-percent bump from April. When compared to one year ago, the hike reaches 50 percent.

Since the beginning of the year, the Economy Ministry has received nearly 3.3 million unemployment claims, 12.4 percent more than the same period last year.

The states of São Paulo, Minas Gerais, and Rio de Janeiro posted 40 percent of the total claims over the month of May — in line with their share of the Brazilian population. As previously reported by The Brazilian Report, national figures show that since the coronavirus reached Brazil, roughly 4.9 million jobs — formal and informal — have vanished.

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• #recession
• #unemployment