Unemployment reaches 8.3 million Brazilians in the quarter ending in October

The unemployment rate in Brazil was 7.6% in the quarter from August to October, according to data from the Continuous National Household Sample Survey (PNAD Contínua) released this Thursday (30) by IBGE. The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics points out that the index corresponds to 8.3 million people without an occupation, a number 3.6% lower than in the previous three months.

On the other hand, the employed population reached 100.2 million people, the largest number since 2012, according to the institute. Adriana Beringuy, coordinator of the research, highlights that the employed population “follows an increasing trend that had already been observed in the previous quarter”.

The number of employees with a work contract in the private sector reached 37.4 million, the highest since June 2014, with an increase of 1.7% (620 thousand) compared to the previous quarter. Self-employed workers totaled 25.6 million, representing an increase of 1.3% (317 thousand) compared to the previous quarter. The number of unregistered employees in the private sector remained stable at 13.3 million.

The research revealed that activities such as Transport, storage and mail increased by 3.2%, or 172 thousand more people, between the quarters. The average real income reached R$2,999, registering a growth of 1.7% compared to the previous quarter and 3.9% compared to the same period last year.

This increase, points out the IBGE, is attributed to the continuous expansion among employed people with a formal contract, a position that normally implies higher incomes.

“The job market recovered driven by informal workers and self-employment in the post-pandemic. Especially from 2022 onwards, we have started to see significant growth in formal employment”, added Adriana Beringuy.

The revenue mass reached the highest level in the historical series, estimated at R$295.7 billion, representing an increase of 2.6% compared to the previous three months and 4.7% compared to the same quarter of 2022.

The discouraged population totaled 3.5 million, representing a drop of 4.6% compared to the previous quarter and 17.7% compared to the same period last year. The percentage of discouraged or discouraged people in the workforce was 3.1%, the lowest rate since July 2016.

Finally, the population outside the workforce reached 66.8 million, showing an increase of 3.2% (2.1 million) compared to the same quarter of 2022.