Labor Day: unemployment rises to 7.9% in March

The so-called “unemployed population” was what drove the increase, according to the National Household Sample Survey, PNAD-contínua. This portion of the population grew 6.7% compared to December 2023, accounting for 542 thousand Brazilians looking for work. Between November and February, temporary jobs increase — and when this period ends, temporary jobs reduce, as explained by economist and professor at FGV, Carla Beni.

“Summer holidays in Brazil require temporary work and tourism activities that also generate a number of specific jobs, but after this period they end up being reduced.”

Compared to the same period in 2023, the balance is 808 thousand fewer people (-8.6%).

See too:

Official inflation slows down in March 2024

In February, 62% of Brazilian cities registered job creation with a formal contract

Lowest unemployment rate since 2014

In comparison with the last quarter — ending in December 2023 — the unemployment rate recorded now was the lowest for the period since 2014. That year, the unemployment rate was 7.2%.

The chief economist at Análise Econômica, Andre Galhardo, explains that much of this evolution can be explained by the strength of the services sector, which continues to be the one that employs the most in Brazil, but also the additional strength of other sectors.

“The industry generated a positive volume and a very reasonable number of job openings in March, according to data from Caged. We also have the strength of retail trade. The Brazilian economy is experiencing a good moment in the first quarter of 2024 — and this has strengthened the job market.

The research also shows that, despite the reduction in the employed population, the number of workers with a formal contract did not vary significantly compared to the previous moving quarter — remaining at 38 million. A number that represents an increase of 3.5% compared to the same period last year.

Higher real income

For professor Carla Beni, the most relevant item in the research is the real average monthly income — since the ‘real’ is a gain above inflation. The mass of income broke its record in the historical series that began in 2012 — R$308.3 billion. The value represents the amount that employed workers receive to move the economy.

On average for the first three months of this year, the worker’s average income reached R$3,123 — an increase of 1.5% between consecutive quarters and 4% compared to the first quarter of 2023.

“This is something very important because you have an increase in the wage bill and income in all jobs. This point was only possible due to the return of recovery from the increase in the minimum wage, with recovery of GDP in the formula.”

The correction of the minimum wage — now with a real increase — increases the economic outlook for workers, which is seen as positive by the economist.

“The warmer job market generates more consumption. And consumption is one of the vectors of economic activity growth in 2024. It is a good thermometer that indicates that the Brazilian economy has more solid and more widespread growth in the first quarter of 2024 than in the same period of 2023”, assesses André Galhardo .