Unemployment rate in Brazil falls to 9.1% and reaches lowest level since 2015

In this geopolitically unprecedentedly difficult environment, the Bolsonaro government has achieved what no one thought it would.

The unemployment rate in Brazil fell to 9.1% in the quarter ending July 2022. This is the lowest rate since the October-November-December 2015 period, when it was also 9.1%.

The number of people out of work decreased to 9.9 million. The IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics) released the data on Wednesday (Aug.31).

The percentage of unemployed decreased by 1.4 percentage points compared to the previous quarter, from February to April (10.5%).

Compared to the same period last year, when the rate was 13.7%, it fell by 4.6 percentage points.

In absolute terms, the number of unemployed fell by 12.9% (1.5 million fewer people) in the quarter.

Compared with a year earlier, it fell by 31.4%, or 4.5 million fewer people. It is the lowest level since the quarter that ended in January 2016.

UNDERUSED

Those who are unemployed, working less than they could, or have not looked for a job even though they are available for work are considered underused.

The underutilization rate fell to 20.9% in the quarter ended this July, the lowest level for that period since 2016 (20.9%).

The decrease was 1.6 percentage points from the February-April 2022 quarter, and was 7 percentage points within a year.

The number of underutilized persons reached 24.3 million in the latest result. Compared to the previous quarter – February to April – it decreased by 6.9% (1.8 million less).

It also decreased compared to the quarter ended July 2021 (-24% or 7.7 million fewer people).

Within the underutilized group, there is the discouraged group, those who are not looking for a job because they do not believe they will find one.

The number of the discouraged population declined by 5% in the quarter ending July 2022 from the previous quarter. The total is now 4.2 million people.

It also fell by 19.8% compared to the February-April period last year, a drop of 1 million people in the group.

LABOR MARKET

The occupied population shows a record high for the historical series that began in 2012. In the quarter ended in July, it was 98.7 million people.

Compared to the previous quarter, it increased by 2.2% (2.2 million more) and within a year by 8.8% (8 million more people).

The number of employees with signed labor cards in the private sector was 35.8 million.

It recorded an increase of 1.6% compared to the quarter from February to April, corresponding to 555 thousand people.

Compared to the same period in 2021, it increased by 10%, which means 3.3 million more people.

The number of workers without work permits (informal) reached 13.1 million, which is the highest in the historical series that began in 2012.

The contingent grew by 4.8% compared to the previous quarter (601 thousand more people) and by 19.8% compared to the quarter from May to July 2021, representing 2.2 million people.

The informality rate was 39.8% of the employed population, compared to 40.1% in the previous quarter and 40.2% in the same quarter of 2021, and the number of informally employed reached 39.3 million.

AVERAGE INCOME

Real usual income (R$2,693 = US$540) increased by 2.9% in May-July. Nevertheless, it decreased by 2.9% compared to the figure a year ago.

Real ordinary income (R$ 260.7 billion) grew 5.3% quarter-on-quarter and 6.1% year-on-year.