Unemployment in Brazil reaches record 14.4% in the quarter ended in August, says IBGE | economy

The index of 14.4% corresponds to an increase of 1.6 percentage points compared to the quarter ended in May (12.9%) and 2.6 percentage points compared to the same interval last year.

The result was above the median of the expectations of 28 consulting firms and financial institutions heard by Valor Data, which pointed to an increase in the rate to 14.2%.

The number of unemployed reached 13.8 million, 8.5% more than the previous quarter. There are about 1.1 million more job seekers compared to the quarter that ended in May. In the annual comparison, it went up ”, highlighted the IBGE. In the same quarter of 2019, the country had 12.6 million unemployed.

Despite the jump in the number of unemployed in the country, the record for the series was recorded in the quarter ended in March 2017, when the number of unemployed in search of work reached 14.1 million.

Last week, the IBGE showed that unemployment in the face of the new coronavirus pandemic broke a record in September, reaching a rate of 14%, but it is a survey with a different methodology and that is not comparable to the data from Pnad Continua. , which is used as an official indicator of unemployment in the country.

“This increase in the rate is related to the growth in the number of people looking for work. By mid-year there was greater isolation, with greater restrictions on trade, and many people had stopped looking for work due to this context. We now see a greater movement in the labor market relative to the moving quarter that ended in May, ”said research analyst Adriana Beringuy.

In addition to record unemployment, the IBGE survey shows that:

• The country reached the lowest historical number of employed workers
• The level of occupation in the labor market reached the lowest historical level
• In 12 months, the country lost 12 million jobs, considering all forms of performance in the labor market
• Of the 4.3 million vacancies lost in 3 months, half had a formal contract
• The retail, accommodation and food segments were the ones that lost the most
• The number of informal workers is the lowest in the entire historical series of the survey.
• The contingent of domestic workers (4.6 million people) is also the smallest in the series.

The employed population falls to a new all-time low

The employed population in Brazil contracted by 5% in 3 months, falling to 81.7 million, new all-time low in the series. The figure represents a reduction of 4.3 million people compared to the closed quarter. In 12 months, the country lost 12 million jobs, considering all forms of performance in the labor market.

The proportion of Brazilians who are not working also increased. The occupancy level (46.8%) reached the lowest level in the historical series, with a decrease of 2.7 percentage points compared to the previous quarter (49.5%), when, for the first time in the history of the In the survey, less than half of the working-age population was employed.

“The scenario we have now is that employment will fall in parallel with the increase in unemployment. People continue to be laid off, but this loss of employment is accompanied by greater pressure on the market ”, says the researcher.

In other words, the increase in demand for employment occurs in a scenario in which the country continues to eliminate jobs.

A the population outside the workforce (79.1 million people) also broke a record, with increases of 5.6% (4.2 million more people) compared to the previous quarter and 21.9% (more 14.2 million people) compared to the same quarter of 2019.

The underutilized population was estimated at 33.3 million people, it was also a record, increasing by 9.7% (more than 3 million people) compared to the previous quarter and 20% (more than 5.6 million people). people) with respect to the same quarter. quarter of 2019.

Discouragement is also a record

Despite the greater number of people who started looking for work, the discouraged population (who stopped looking for work) totaled 5.9 million and also renewed a record, with an increase of 8.1% (more than 440 thousand people) compared to the previous quarter and of 24.2% (more than 1.1 million people) compared to the same quarter of 2019.

The percentage of discouraged in relation to the workforce population or discouraged (5.8%) was also record, reaching 5.8%, against 5.2% in the previous quarter and 4.3% 1 year ago.

Only agriculture increased the number of jobs in the quarter

Of the 10 activity groups analyzed, only agriculture, livestock, forestry, fishing and aquaculture had an increase in the employed population. The increase was 2.9% in the quarter, which represents 228 thousand more people working in the sector.

In the same period, the employed population in industry fell 3.9%, losing 427 thousand workers, while commerce, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles had a retraction of 4.7%, or less 754 thousand people. In Construction, the scenario was one of stability.

Loss of positions between formal and informal

The fall in the number of employed Brazilians affects all forms of insertion in the labor market, but IBGE figures show that informal workers were the most affected by the pandemic.

The category of private sector employees with a formal contract was estimated at 29.1 million people, the lowest level in the historical series, which represents a decrease of 6.5% (minus 2 million) compared to the quarter ended in May. and 12% (less 4 million people) compared to the same quarter of 2019.

The number of employees without a formal contract (8.8 million people) fell 5% (463 thousand people) compared to the previous moving quarter, but jumped 25.8% (minus 3 million) in 12 months.

In the same sense, the number of self-employed rose to 21.5 million people, which represents a decrease of 4% (less 894 thousand) compared to the previous quarter and an increase of 11.4% (less 2.8 million) compared to the same period in 2019.

A The informality rate in the quarter ended in August was 38%, compared to 37.6% in the previous quarter, which is equivalent to 31 million self-employed workers or without a formal contract.

Fall in labor income

The usual average real income was R $ 2,542 in the quarter ended in August, 3.1% more compared to the previous quarter and 8.1% compared to the same quarter of 2019, mainly influenced by the greater reduction of the contingent of informal workers. in the country.

I and The mass of real income from work decreased 2.2% (less R $ 4.6 billion) in 3 months and 5.7% (less R $ 12.3 billion) in the annual comparison.

Country reaches the lowest number of INSS taxpayers

The IBGE survey also showed that the country reached the lowest number of contributors to the National Social Security Institute (INSS).

In the quarter that ended in August, there were 53.3 million taxpayers in the country, about 3 million less than in the quarter ended in May.

Previously, the lowest number of taxpayers had been registered in the quarter ended in May 2012, with 54.6 million.

Government officials have said that the worst part of the crisis triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic is behind us and that the economy has shown signs of recovery. However, the job market is expected to remain under pressure, and analysts estimate that the unemployment rate should continue on an upward trajectory considering the end of emergency aid programs.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicts that the country’s unemployment rate will end the year at 13.4% and rise further in 2021, to 14.1%.

On Thursday (29), the Ministry of Economy announced that the Brazilian economy created 313,564 formal jobs in September. However, in the first nine months of the year, 558,597 formal positions were closed in the country.

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