Wage Inequality in Brazil Between Blacks and Whites Increases, Says IBGE

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The income gap between white and black workers increased in 2019, reaching its highest level since 2016, according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). According to a survey released by the institute on Wednesday, the average monthly income of blacks was equivalent to 55.8 percent of that of whites.

According to a survey released by the institute on Wednesday, May 6th, the average income of white workers was R$2,999 in 2019. Blacks earned an average income of R$1,673. It was the second largest gap in the survey’s historical series, which began in 2012ç only 2016 was worse.

In 2019, black workers accounted for 10.4 percent of the employed population in the country. The share has been growing over the past few years, from 8.1 percent in 2012. Whites make up 44.8 percent of the employed population, which totaled 92 million people in 2019.

Workers who declared themselves mixed-race earned an average income of R$1,719 per month in 2019. This is equivalent to 57.3 percent of the average income of whites. However, in this case, the gap has remained virtually stable in recent years, after a drop in 2016.

The IBGE survey showed that wage inequality between men and women also remains high. The 2019 data show a retreat in the process of reducing the income gap between genders in the country. Last year, women’s average income was R$1,985, while men’s was R$2,555.

That is, women’s average income was equivalent to 77.7 percent of that of men. The gap is less than the 78.8 percent in 2018, but more than the 73.6 percent in 2012.

Women represented 43.2 percent of the employed population in 2019, also an increase from 41.6 percent in 2012.

The IBGE survey shows that in 2019 there was greater growth in the income of workers in training, which rose 9.03 percent, from R$842 to R$918 per month. For those with higher education, it grew 2.22 percent, from R$4,997 to R$5,108 per month.

In 2019, the unemployment rate fell to 11 percent, from 12.3 percent the previous year, with growth in the number of casual workers, which reached its highest level since 2016. In the first quarter of 2020, unemployment rose again, impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, reaching 12.2 percent.

Source: Folhapress

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