The unemployment rate dropped to 9.1% in the quarter ended in July, which represents a drop of 1.4 percentage points compared to the quarter ended in April. The index was equal to the lowest in the series since December 2015. The data are from the Continuous National Household Sample Survey (Pnad), released today (31) by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE).
The number of employed persons reached 98.7 million, a record in the historical series, which began in 2012. However, the level of occupation, which indicates the percentage of employed persons in the working-age population, dropped 1.1 percentage points, to 57%, in the quarterly comparison. Compared to the quarter ended in July 2021, the drop was 4.1 percentage points.
The coordinator of Household Sample Surveys, Adriana Beringuy, explains that the drop in unemployment was influenced by the activities of trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles, which registered an increase of 692 thousand people (3.7%) in the quarterly comparison. And the public administration, defense, social security, education, human health and social services sector rose 3.9%, with more than 648,000 people.
“These two activities were, in fact, highlights, but it is worth noting that no economic activity group showed a loss of occupation. In other words, all sectors added people to the job market”, says the coordinator.
In the annual comparison, only the agriculture, livestock, forestry, fishing and aquaculture sector did not increase the number of people employed.
Unregistered workers hit record
According to the IBGE, the number of unregistered employees in the private sector hit a record in the historical series with an increase of 4.8% in relation to the quarter ended in April, reaching 13.1 million people.
On the other hand, the informality rate had a slight reduction, remaining at 39.8% of the employed population, with 39.3 million people, against 40% in the previous quarter. The population outside the labor force was stable in July at 64.7 million people.
The population that is discouraged, that is, that is not busy or looking for work, fell by 5% in the quarter and reached 4.2 million people. In the annual comparison, the fall reached 19.8%, which represents less than 1 million people. The percentage of discouraged corresponded to 3.7% of the workforce in the quarter ended in July.
The IBGE highlights that the increase in people in the labor market was disseminated among the job categories. the number of workers Sunesticos rose 4.4% compared to the previous quarter and registered 5.9 million people. The number of employers reached 4.3 million people, an increase of 3.9%.
The number of employees with a formal contract in the private sector rose 1.6% in the quarter and stood at 35.8 million people. The number of self-employed workers was 25.9 million people, which means a growth of 1.3%. Employees in the public sector totaled 12 million in the analyzed period, an increase of 4.7% in the quarter.
Average income grows again
After two years of stagnancy or decline, the usual real income returned to growth and reached R$ 2,693 in the quarter ended in July. Adriana Beringuy explains that the increase was 2.9% compared to the previous quarter, although 2.9% lower than in the same period of 2021. “The last time there was significant growth was exactly 2 years ago, in the quarter ended in July 2020”, he recalls.
Data from Pnad Contínua indicate that the increase in income was driven by employers, who had an increase of 6.1%, or more than R$369; of military personnel and statutory civil servants, with an increase of 3.8%, or more than R$ 176; and self-employed workers, whose earnings rose by 3% or R$63.
The usual real income mass was BRL 260.7 billion, an increase of 5.3% compared to the quarter ended in April and 6.1% compared to the quarter ended in July 2021.
