While crisis reigns elsewhere, Brazil surprises with 1.3 million new formal jobs in first half of the year

Brazil created 278,000 formal jobs in June, exceeding financial market analysts’ expectations. It is the sixth consecutive month with a positive balance.

This brings the total number of new jobs created by the labor market to 1.3 million in the first half of 2022.

Currently, there are 42 million registered jobs in Brazil. The Caged (General Cadastre of Employed and Unemployed) data was released Wednesday (28) by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security.

Minister José Oliveira said that the balance so far is “gratifying”, as it is higher than expected. According to the minister, it is “possible to dream” that the country will achieve an “extremely positive” result by the end of 2022.

Oliveira thanked businessmen and entrepreneurs for creating jobs. He explained that the services sector drove the June figures.

JOBS PER SECTOR

All segments ended the month in positive territory. Here are the results for June:

Services: 124,534;
Trade: 47,176;
Industry: 41,517
Construction: 30,257; and
Agriculture: 34,460.

JOBS BY REGION

Jobs were created in all five regions of the state:

Southeast: 137,228 jobs, +0.64%;
Northeast: 52,122 jobs, +0.77%;
Central-West: 34,263 jobs, +0.94%;
South: 31,774 jobs, +0.40%; and
North: 21,780 jobs, +1.10%.

AVERAGE SALARY

The average salary of workers was R$1,913 (US$370) in June. The value is 0.68% higher than the value registered in May. 12 months ago, it was R$2,026.

When asked if there are more new hires because the average salary has decreased in the last 12 months, Labor Minister Mauro Rodrigues replied that there is no direct correlation. He reiterated that the current reality points to an increase in the average salary.

According to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), the unemployment rate has decreased month by month, reaching 9.8% in May, the lowest level in six years.

Felipe Pateo, Undersecretary of Studies and Statistics, said that despite the difference in methodology, the employment indicator measured by IBGE indicates convergence in job creation with the Caged.