Key Points
- Brazil added 1,279,498 formal jobs in 2025, but the pace slowed sharply from 2024.
- Services carried the labor market, while high interest rates tightened credit for firms.
- December’s seasonal layoffs were heavier than usual, hinting at softer hiring in 2026.
Brazil ended 2025 with a positive formal employment balance, yet the headline hides a clear loss of speed. Novo Caged data released on January 29, 2026 showed 26,599,777 admissions and 25,320,279 dismissals, for a net gain of 1,279,498 signed-contract jobs.
That was the weakest annual result since 2020, when the pandemic drove a net loss of 189,393 formal posts. It also marked a step down from 2024’s net gain of 1,677,575, and well below the rebound years of 2021 and 2022.
Even so, the level of formal employment kept rising. The stock of active formal job ties climbed 2.71% in 2025, from 47.19 million to 48.47 million, the highest point in the current series.
The year’s job creation was broad across sectors, but not evenly shared. Services accounted for 758,355 new jobs, far ahead of commerce at 247,097. Industry added 144,319, construction 87,878, and agriculture 41,870.
Within services, information, communication, finance, real estate, and professional and administrative activities added 318,460.
Public administration, education, health, and social services added 194,903. Geography also looked healthy on paper. All regions and all states posted positive balances.
Brazil Job Growth Shows Regional Slowdown
The Southeast added 504,972 jobs, the Northeast 347,940, the South 186,126, the Center-West 149,530, and the North 90,613. São Paulo led states with 311,228, followed by Rio de Janeiro with 100,920 and Bahia with 94,380.
Officials argued that expensive credit mattered more than the U.S. tariff shock. Brazil’s Selic rate reached 15% a year in June 2025 and stayed there, its highest level since 2006.
Tariff effects, they said, were concentrated in export chains such as wood, furniture, and footwear, where links to U.S. demand are stronger.
The year ended with a warning sign. December 2025 saw a net closure of 618,164 formal jobs, from 1,523,309 hires and 2,141,473 layoffs.
December is usually negative, but the drop was deeper than the year before. For households and businesses, the message is simple: jobs are still being created, but momentum is fading.
Related coverage: Brazil’s Morning Call | Brazil’s 2025 Fiscal Picture: A Small Primary Gap, A Huge In This is part of The Rio Times’ daily coverage of Brazil affairs and Latin American financial news.