The new edition of Labor Market Bulletin from the Institute of Applied Economic Research (Ipea)released this Wednesday (9), consolidates indicators that prove improvements in the Brazilian labor market. Based on data from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), Ipea highlights that the workforce and employed population are at the highest levels recorded since the beginning of the Continuous PNAD historical series in 2012.
In the second trimester This year, the workforce reached 109.4 million people, with 101.8 million employed population. In the third trimesterthis indicator broke a new record, reaching 102.5 million employed people in Brazil.
Focusing on the second quarter, Ipea researchers highlight that formal employment also showed growth, with an increase of 4.0% compared to the second quarter of 2023. Novo Caged recorded the creation of 1.7 million new vacancies with formal contract, representing an increase of 3.8% in the period.
Sectors
The unemployment rate, according to the survey, reached its lowest level since the fourth quarter of 2014, falling to 6.9%. The long-term unemployment rate also fell (-1.5 percentage points), and there was a small reduction in despondency (-0.4 percentage points).
According to Ipea, the falls were significant in several categories and, except for gender, the reductions in unemployment contributed to the reduction of inequalities within each group.
Among the sectors of the economy, transport, IT and personal services stood out. Growth in formal employment was observed in most sectors, with the exception of agriculture, domestic services and the public utility sector.
Average income also grew in the second quarter of 2024 compared to the same period of the previous year, with a real increase of 5.8%, ending the quarter at R$3,214.
The real wage bill registered a significant growth of 9.2% year-on-year, reaching R$322.6 billion, meaning an increase of R$27 billion compared to the first quarter of 2023.
Challenges
Despite the advances, Ipea researchers warn of some challenges. According to a note released by the institute, the stability of underoccupancy and workforce participation rates in recent quarters is a cause for concern.
“It is crucial to understand why the number of inactive people remains high, totaling 66.7 million people outside the labor force. Among them, 3.2 million gave up looking for a job due to discouragement – a group that should be a priority for reintegration to the job market”, points out the study.
The researchers also highlight the need to further investigate the causes of this discouragement and invest in effective policies to attract this portion of the population to productive opportunities.
Another point of concern for Ipea is the agricultural sector, which recorded its ninth consecutive reduction in the employed population. Furthermore, structural problems continue to impact the labor market, with many workers still trapped in informal jobs, without access to social and labor protections.
Regional, gender, race, age and education inequalities, both in terms of opportunities for productive inclusion and average monthly income, remain critical challenges.
