Brazil stuck in a rut of creating low-quality and insecure jobs

Between 2012 and 2019, just six occupations accounted for 5.25 million new jobs created in Brazil: app driver, hairdresser or beautician, cook, street vendor, retail salesperson, and other sales positions. As total employment grew by only 4.4 million in that period, it would be safe to say that all other job types stagnated or were slashed in that period.

Those six occupations now represent over 18 percent of employed Brazilians. The common thread between them is vulnerability, according to researchers from think tank FGV-Ibre, in a recent paper. 

Compared to the national average, these jobs pay less, require less education, are mostly informal, and suffered the most from the shutdown of the in-person economy during the pandemic. 

Previously responsible for what dynamism there was in the labor market, these six...