Brazil Creates 644,000 Formal Jobs in 2019, Best Result in Six Years

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Brazil created a net 644,079 jobs with a signed worker’s register book in 2019, according to data from the National Registry of Employees and Unemployed (CAGED) released on Friday, January 24th.

The number results from the difference between hirings, which totaled 16,197,094 in the past year, and dismissals – which totaled 15,553,015 people.

This was the second consecutive year of formal job openings and also the best result since 2013 – when 1.117 million jobs were created with a signed worker’s record book.

According to Bruno Dalcolmo, Labor Secretary of the Ministry of Economy, the increase in formal job creation in 2019 is “another indication of the Brazilian economy’s rebound and of the business community’s confidence in the government’s economic policy”.

“After years recording negative data, the industry has reacted again, also driven by construction,” he added. According to him, the industry closed jobs between 2014 and 2017 and, in 2018, opened 2,610 positions, with a “virtually stable ” performance. In 2019, it created 18,000 formal jobs.

Expectations for 2020

The Labor Secretary of the Ministry of the Economy expects that by 2020 job creation will approach one million new formal jobs should the economy grow by three percent. He did not say how many jobs would be created should the GDP grow by 2.4 percent, the government’s official forecast for this year.

“Construction seems to be back. We’ve seen a number of launches, it’s grown a lot. And it represents an important production chain to generate jobs, particularly for the most vulnerable classes of the population,” he said.

He further assessed that the trade and services sectors historically employ greatly with the recovery of domestic demand as it increases the availability for consumption and people’s confidence. “When expectations improve, businesses start hiring more people, it’s a positive cycle,” he concluded.

Formal jobs

With the opening of vacancies in 2019, Brazil closed the year with a stock of 39.05 million formal jobs. In late 2018, the balance of formal jobs stood at 38.43 million.

The 2019 result represents the highest stock at a year’s end since 2015 – when 39.23 million people held jobs with a signed worker’s record book.

In December 2019, however, vacancies were closed. This is a month in which there have traditionally been layoffs of workers with signed worker’s record books.

In December last year, 307,311 formal jobs were closed. In the same month of 2018, for instance, dismissals outnumbered hirings by 334,462 jobs.

The year 2019 by sectors

According to government figures, the eight economy sectors opened vacancies last year. The service sector created the most jobs, and public administration was the sector that hired the fewest workers.

The results are as follows:

Construction: 71,115 jobs
Manufacturing industry: 18,341 jobs
Mineral extraction industry: 5,005 formal posts
Industrial utility services: 6,430 vacancies
Public administration: 822 jobs
Trade: 145,475 formal vacancies
Agriculture: 14,366 vacancies
Services: 382,525 jobs

Country regions
According to the Ministry of Economy, all five regions of the country recorded more hirings than dismissals last year.

Southeast Region: 318,219 open positions
Northeast Region: 76,561 jobs created
North Region: 32,576 open positions
Central West Region: 73,450 jobs created
Southern Region: 143,273 open positions

The government further reported that all 27 governmental units of the federation created formal jobs last year.

The opening of jobs in the year was led by São Paulo (+184,133), followed by Minas Gerais (+97,720) and Santa Catarina (+71,406). The states that created the fewest vacancies last year were Amapá (352), Acre (353) and Alagoas (731).

Intermittent work

According to the Ministry of Economy, 85,716 intermittent hires occurred last year. In this category, work occurs sporadically, on alternate days or for a few hours, and is paid by period.

In 2019, 16.5 percent of the jobs created in the country were intermittent or part-time.
In the past year, 20,360 formal jobs were also recorded in the new part-time work categories. These part-time work categories, defined by the labor reform, include hiring up to 26 hours per week with overtime restrictions or up to 30 hours per week without overtime.

Average salary for admission

The government also reported that the average monthly wage for new hires was R$1,595.53 (US$399) in December last year.