Unemployment rate in Brazil falls to lowest level since 2015

The Brazilian economy maintained the pace of job creation, reaching a positive balance of 278,639 formal jobs in August.

The unemployment rate fell to 8.9% in the June to August quarter. It dropped 0.9 percentage points from the previous quarter, in March, April, and May.

The index reached the lowest level since August 2015, when it recorded the same percentage.

The IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics) released the result this Friday (Sep.30)

According to specialists, even with the result being lower than the one verified in August 2021, when 388,267 jobs were opened, the number is still above the historical monthly average for the month.

Data from the General Cadastre for Employed and Unemployed of the Ministry of Labor (New Caged) show that the balance of formal job creation reached 1,853,298 from January to August this year and 2,455,662 in the last 12 months.

With this, the stock of formal jobs registered in the New Caged is 42,531,653.

The chief economist of Banco Original, Marco Caruso, explained that the data exceeded market expectations of 267,000 vacancies.

“Although the result was 25.4% lower than in August 2021, the number was above the historical average of 170,000 recorded for the month in the statistical series since 2007,” he said.

All sectors of the economy had a positive performance, especially the services sector, responsible for opening 141,113 vacancies.

Despite presenting weak production indicators, the transformation industry had the second largest growth, creating 52,760 formal jobs.

Trade (41,886), civil construction (35,156), and agriculture and cattle-raising (7,724) were also positive.

The Minister of Labor and Social Security, José Carlos Oliveira, pointed out that August was the third month in which the industrial sector recorded high hiring.

“This means that we are resuming the movement of Brazilian industry, which is important because it brings added value to our products and raises the average income of Brazilians.

“The industry, as a rule, requires better qualification and, consequently, pays higher salaries”, he said.

Last month, the real average salary for hired workers with a work contract rose to R$1,949.84 (US$361.58), up from R$1,920.57 in July. In August 2021, the starting salary was R$1,951.30.

CONSTRUCTION

The civil construction sector had the most outstanding performance in the year-to-date, with a 10.89% growth in the net offer of vacancies.

The engineer Luciano Machado, a partner at MMF Projetos, said that in the industrial sector, not only have companies been hiring, but specialized labor has been disputed.

“Recently, we have brought people and lost people to other companies that offer better salaries, better opportunities, not only within engineering, but also for field services, which do not need such a high technical level, but require experience,” he reported.

“Many projects were executed this year, and the works have everything to happen next year. So, infrastructure is an area that will leverage labor absorption,” said Machado.

The Secretary of Labor and Social Security of the Ministry of Labor, Mauro de Souza, said that the positive balance of 1.853 million jobs in the year indicates stability in the generation of vacancies after the boom in 2021 due to the resumption of hiring after the coronavirus pandemic.

“We knew that we would not repeat the numbers of 2021, but we now have a stable and positive scenario,” he added.

For Bruno Imaizumi, an economist at LCA Consultores, the August numbers were positive, but there is the possibility of a loss of steam in the generation of vacancies starting with September’s data.

“The deceleration should become more evident in the fourth quarter, with the impact of high interest rates on economic activity, and continue until 2023,” he observed.

With information from Estadão