Unemployment reaches 9.2 million people in the quarter ended in February

The unemployment rate reached 8.6% in the quarter of December 2022 and February 2023, according to data from the Continuous PNAD (Continuous National Household Sample Survey) released this Friday morning (31). Unemployment increased by 0.5 percentage points compared to the period from September to November last year (see full text).

In absolute numbers, the unemployed population is 9.2 million people, an increase of 5.5% compared to the previous quarter, according to the report by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). But, 23.2% less than in the same period last year.

According to the IBGE, the increase in unemployment occurred after six quarters of significant declines in a row, “which were greatly influenced by the recovery of work in the post-pandemic”, says Adriana Beringuy, coordinator of Work and Income at the institute.

“Returning unemployment growth in this period may signal a return to the seasonal nature of the labor market. If we look retrospectively, in the historical series of the survey, all the moving quarters ending in February are marked by the expansion of unemployment, with the exception of 2022”, he explains.

As a result, the number of people out of the workforce grew by 2.3%, which represents 1.5 million more. In the same comparison, the potential workforce, estimated at 7.3 million, was flat.

The employed population totaled 98.1 million people, with a drop of 1.6% in comparison with the previous quarter. The IBGE credits this to the dismissal of temporary workers who are usually hired at the end of the year and to pressure from the market after the festive period.