Under Bolsonaro unemployment in Brazil reaches lowest level since April 2015

Unemployment in Brazil fell in the quarter that ended in November to 8.1 percent, the lowest level since April 2015 and equivalent to about 8.7 million people out of work, the state-run Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) reported Thursday.

Compared to the quarter ending in August, unemployment in the country fell by 0.9 percentage points; compared to November 2022, the reduction was 3.5 percentage points.

In numbers, unemployment fell by 953,000 people compared to the previous quarter and by 3.7 million compared to November last year.

IBGE highlighted that “the unemployment rate has been falling significantly for six consecutive quarters.

Although the increase in the employed population has been occurring slower than in previous quarters, it is significant and contributes to the drop in unemployment”.

The employed population reached 99.7 million people, a record in the series started in 2012 and with an increase of 0.7 percent (680,000 people) compared to the previous quarter and 5 percent (4.8 million people) compared to November last year.

The labor force underutilization rate, people who could work more hours but for various reasons do not fell to 18.9 percent, 1.6 percentage points lower than in August and 6.1 percentage points lower than a year ago.

The informality rate was 38.9 percent of the employed population, equivalent to 38.8 million people, down from 39.7 percent in the previous quarter and 40.6 percent a year earlier.

The average salary in Brazil in November was 2,787 reais (about 535 dollars), 3 percent higher than in the previous quarter and 7.1 percent higher than a year ago.

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