Unemployment rate stable at 8.5 percent in April

Brazil’s unemployment rate reached 8.5 percent in the three months through April, representing stability compared to the previous three-month period (8.4 percent) and a decrease of 2 percentage points compared to the same span last year (10.5 percent). In addition, the unemployed population is also stable at 9.1 million people, though 20 percent lower than February-to-April 2022. 

The data comes from the Pnad study, the most comprehensive household sample survey carried out regularly by the IBGE national statistics agency. The figures show that the country’s labor market remains resilient, posting the lowest unemployment rate for the period since 2015.

After reaching the peak of unemployment during the pandemic, the Brazilian labor market has been recovering since the second half of 2022. 

Another relevant data point is the maintenance of the income levels (BRL 2,891 or USD 571) compared to the previous quarter. The measurement grew 7.5 percent annually — above the 12-month inflation of 4.8 percent — making it fundamental in supporting household consumption, a crucial driver of growth in the Brazilian economy. The country’s Q1 GDP figures, also measured by IBGE, will be released on Thursday. Economists predict a 1.3 percent increase between January and March.

Compared to the previous quarter, no field of labor saw an increase in the number of people employed. However, measured against the same period last year, there was a strong increase in the number of people employed in services in general, especially in transportation, storage, and mail (7.8 percent), information, communication, financial and administrative activities (4 percent), and public administration, defense, social security, education, human health, and social services (4.6 percent).

The informality rate — workers without a formal contract or self-employed — also remained stable at 38.9 percent (38 million people) and slightly below the same period in 2022, when this rate reached 40.1 percent.

However, the number of inactive workers and those who don’t work and aren’t looking for a job grew for the third straight three-month period (1.3 percent) after remaining relatively flat in the second half of 2022. As a result, there are 67.2 million people in this group, 5.6 million more workers than in 2019, before the pandemic.

As this is related to people who no longer want to work, the data could be linked to the aging of the workforce. However, this group also includes young people who could work but do not. The IBGE has not yet come up with an explanation for this phenomenon, which, according to the research coordinator Adriana Beringuy, is also seen in other countries.

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