A study by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) released today (11) shows color as a relevant factor in differentiating the average monthly income of workers in the country in 2021. According to the survey, whites earn R$3,099 on average. This value is 75.7% higher than that recorded among blacks, which is R$1,764. It also exceeds by 70.8% the average income of R$1,814 for brown workers.
Even among people with complete higher education, a significant gap persists. In this group, the average hourly earnings of whites was about 50% higher than that of blacks and about 40% higher than that of browns. In addition, although they represent 53.8% of workers in the country, blacks and browns occupied only 29.5% of managerial positions in 2021.
Whites have also been less affected by unemployment. The unemployment rate in 2021 for them is 11.3%. Among the black population, it is 16.5% and for the brown population, 16.2%.
The data also reveal differences in informality: only whites are below the national rate of 40.1%. According to the IBGE, “informality in the labor market is often associated with precarious work and the absence of social protection”. It involves workers who may face difficulties in accessing basic rights, such as retirement and the guarantee of remuneration equal to or greater than the minimum wage.
The proportion of poor people in the country is also quite different in terms of color. Among whites, 18.6% are below the poverty line, that is, they live on less than US$ 5.50 a day according to one of the World Bank classifications. The percentage practically doubles between blacks (34.5%) and browns (38.4%).
Entitled Social Inequalities by Color or Race in Brazil, the study cross-references data extracted from 12 more IBGE surveys. It is in its second edition. The first, released in 2019, was more streamlined: indicators on the labor market and income distribution, for example, were not included in the survey. According to the IBGE, “racial inequalities are important vectors for the analysis of social inequalities in Brazil, as they reveal in time and space the greater socioeconomic vulnerability of populations of color or race that are black, brown and indigenous.”
Other indicators
The study also provides updated information on heritage, education, violence, political representation and the political environment of the municipalities. According to the IBGE, different population groups have unequal access to basic goods and services necessary for well-being, such as health, education, housing, work and income.
It was found that in the households of white people there is a greater presence of practically all durable goods analyzed: refrigerator, television, washing machine, oven, microwave, automobile, computer, air conditioning, tablet and Freezer?? The only exception was motorcycles, which appear more frequently in homes of brown people. In rural areas, among landowners with more than 10 thousand hectares, 79.1% declare themselves white, 17.4% brown and only 1.6% are black.
The study also presents a cut of homicide victims in the country in 2020. Among brown people, the highest rate is recorded, with 34.1 deaths per 100,000. In the black population, this rate is 21.9 deaths, while among whites it is 11.5.
In higher education, the IBGE found different realities depending on the course. In pedagogy, for example, blacks and browns represented 47.8% of students enrolled in 2020. In nursing, they were 43.7%. On the other hand, in the medical course, they represented only 25%.
Political representation data in the 2020 municipal elections were also included in the survey. Among the mayoral candidates who carried out campaigns with a collection of more than R$ 1 million, 67.5% are white.
