Unemployment falls to 6.9% in quarter ending in June

Brazil’s unemployment rate in the quarter ending in June fell to 6.9 percent—the lowest result for a quarter since the one ending in January 2015, when it also stood at 6.9 percent.

Looking only at the three-month span up to June, the result is the lowest ever recorded, equaling that of 2014. The data can be found in the Continuous PNAD (National Household Sample Survey), released Wednesday (Jul. 31) by statistics bureau IBGE.

June’s figure stands at less than half the peak of this time series, in March 2021, when the rate reached 14.9 percent. At the time, it was the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The series begins in 2012. The lowest result ever recorded was 6.3 percent in December 2013.

In the quarter ending in June, the number of Brazilians looking for work stood at 7.5 million, down 12.5 percent on the previous quarter. Compared to the same period last year, the drop was 12.8 percent.

The employed population set yet another record, adding up to 101.8 million people. This figure is 1.6 percent higher than in the previous quarter and three percent higher than in the same span last year.

The big picture

IBGE Coordinator for Household Surveys Adriana Beringuy pointed out that the three activities with a surge in employment were commerce, public administration, and information and communication activities.

The researcher explained that the behavior of the employment level is a reflection of the improvement in the general picture of economic activities and the growth in income as well as in the population. Companies and institutions, she noted, are experiencing an economic upturn and are demanding more labor to produce goods and provide services.

“It’s a labor market that has been responding satisfactorily to the improvement in the macroeconomic framework, with a growth in the number of employed people and the drivers behind more formal, in addition to a trend towards growth in the average income of workers,” she stated.

She went on to say that the results can no longer be attributed solely to the post-pandemic recovery. “Now, in 2024, we have a labor market that responds not only to a post-pandemic process, but also to the workings of economic activity, in a setting more closely related to macroeconomic measures, which end up favoring the incorporation of workers.”

Income

In the quarter ending in June, the average monthly income of workers was BRL 3,214 ($568.52), up 1.8 percent in the quarter and 5.8 percent year-on-year.

With more people employed and an increase in average income, Brazil had a record income in the second quarter of 2024, which reached BRL 322.6 billion. This is the total amount of money that workers receive to fuel the economy with consumption and savings.

The survey assesses behavior in the job market for people aged 14 and over and takes into account all forms of employment, both formal and informal, and temporary jobs as well as self-employment, for instance. A total of 211 thousand households are visited across all states and the Federal District.