Explaining Brazil Podcast: Brazil facing a job apocalypse

Official statistics have shown how severe of an effect the coronavirus is having on the global job market. In the U.S., over 3.2 million people filed for unemployment benefits in the last week of March alone — and an incredible 6.6 million this week. And, just to continue using the U.S. for perspective, three weeks prior to that, jobless claims were at a historic low, at around 200,000 filings. In Brazil, the effects of the pandemic on the labor market remain unknown. First of all, this kind of data is published monthly around here — and the government is apparently trying to withhold this information. The Economy Ministry recently announced it has suspended the release of a monthly database of workers under formal employment, meaning it might be a while until we find out exactly how many layoffs the crisis has already caused. But, sooner rather than later, these impacts will be felt. And they will be felt hard.