Unemployment rate in Brazil stands at 8.8% in the first quarter of 2023

“Probably, throughout 2023, the unemployment rate will be basically maintained at this level, perhaps rising a little more or decreasing a little, but it will probably continue at this level until we can see a more favorable economic scenario, around investment by companies, thus generating new hires, causing this level to reduce” considers finance specialist Marcos Melo, director of Valorum Empresarial.

FGV IBRE Construction Confidence Index rises 1.0 point and generates positive expectations for the sector

Productive sector calls for balance in interest rates

According to the survey, there was an increase of 0.9 percentage points in the indicator compared to the quarter from October to December 2022, when the rate was 7.9%. In all, the unemployed population, which corresponds to 9.4 million people, grew 10% compared to the last quarter, and retreated 21.1% in the year.

Economist and professor at FGV-EAESP, Renan Pieri, assesses that the current scenario already shows a certain deceleration, which requires broader changes, especially with regard to the approval of important measures, such as tax reform.

“To resolve the situation, we need to get out of this short-growth, chicken-flying trap. For that, we need structural reforms. We’re talking about tax reform that simplifies taxes; a macroeconomic reform of government spending, which allows for a reduction in the deficit, greater predictability for the economy, with lower inflation, with more investment”, he highlights.

As for the number of employed persons, ie 97.8 million individuals, there was a decrease of 1.6% in relation to the previous quarter. However, there was a jump of 2.7% compared to the same quarter of the previous year. With regard to the underemployed population due to insufficient hours worked, IBGE data point to a drop of 7.7% compared to the previous quarter and 23% in the year.

signed portfolio

The number of professionals with a formal contract in the private sector – not including domestic workers – was 36.7 million, a result that showed stability in comparison with the previous quarter. In the annual comparison, an increase of 5.2% was noted, that is, more than 1.8 million people.

As for the number of workers without a formal contract in the private sector, there was a drop of 3.2% (less 430 thousand people) compared to the previous quarter. In the annual comparison, there was an increase of 4.8%, which corresponds to 590 thousand people.