Nineteen states and the Federal District (DF) closed the year 2025 with the lowest unemployment rate recorded in the historical series of the Continuous National Household Sample Survey (Pnad), started in 2012.
The data was released this Friday (20) by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE).
For the country as a whole, the year 2025 ended with unemployment rate of 5.6%, the lowest ever recorded in the historical series started in 2012, as announced by IBGE at the end of January.
The IBGE survey investigates behavior in the labor market for people aged 14 or over and takes into account all forms of occupation, whether with or without a formal contract, temporary and self-employed, for example.
According to the institute’s criteria, only a person who actually looked for a vacancy 30 days before the search is considered unemployed. 211 thousand homes are visited in all states and the Federal District.
Historic lows
The federation units (UF) that reached the minimum unemployment rate were:
Mato Grosso: 2.2%
Santa Catarina: 2.3%
Mato Grosso do Sul: 3%
Espírito Santo: 3.3%
Paraná: 3.6%
Rio Grande do Sul: 4%
Minas Gerais: 4.6%
Goiás: 4.6%
Tocantins: 4.7%
São Paulo: 5%
Paraíba: 6%
Ceará: 6.5%
Pará: 6.8%
Maranhão: 6.8%
Federal District: 7.5%
Amapá: 7.9%
Sergipe: 7.9%
Rio Grande do Norte: 8.1%
Amazon: 8.4%
Bahia: 8.7%
Despite not having experienced a drop in the unemployment rate, Rondônia closed the year at 3.3%, the fourth lowest rate in the country. THE The record low for unemployment in the northern state was 3.1%, in 2023.
Of all the states that reached the lowest unemployment rates in 2025, the only one that did not show a drop compared to 2024 was Amazonas, which repeated the mark of 8.4%.
Twelve UFs below average
Consolidated data from 2025 reveals that of the 27 UFs, 12 were below the national average (5.6%); and 15 exceed the average unemployment in the country. Three states in the Northeast have the highest unemployment rates.
See the ranking:
Mato Grosso: 2.2%
Santa Catarina: 2.3%
Mato Grosso do Sul: 3.0%
Espírito Santo: 3.3%
Rondônia: 3.3%
Paraná: 3.6%
Rio Grande do Sul: 4.0%
Goiás: 4.6%
Minas Gerais: 4.6%
Tocantins: 4.7%
São Paulo: 5.0%
Roraima: 5.1%
Brazil Average: 5.6%
Paraíba: 6.0%
Ceará: 6.5%
Acre: 6.6%
Maranhão: 6.8%
Pará: 6.8%
Federal District: 7.5%
Rio de Janeiro: 7.6%
Sergipe: 7.9%
Amapá: 7.9%
Rio Grande do Norte: 8.1%
Alagoas: 8.3%
Amazon: 8.4%
Bahia: 8.7%
Pernambuco: 8.7%
Piauí: 9.3%
Informality
IBGE research allows us to identify inequalities in the level of informality in the labor market throughout the country. While the country ended 2025 with informality of 38.1%, 18 states were above this mark, with a negative highlight for the North and Northeast regions.
In informality, workers do not have guaranteed rights such as social security coverage, 13th salary, unemployment insurance and vacations, for example.
See the level of informality in the UFs:
Maranhão: 58.7%
Pará: 58.5%
Bahia: 52.8%
Piauí: 52.6%
Ceará: 51%
Amazon: 50.8%
Paraíba: 49%
Sergipe: 48.2%
Pernambuco: 47.8%
Alagoas: 47.5%
Rondônia: 46.1%
Acre: 45.2%
Amapá: 44.2%
Roraima: 40.3%
Tocantins: 39.7%
Espírito Santo: 39%
Rio Grande do Norte: 39%
Rio de Janeiro: 38.5%
Brazil Average: 38.1%
Minas Gerais: 36.8%
Mato Grosso: 36.3%
Goiás: 35.1%
Mato Grosso do Sul: 32.1%
Paraná: 31.6%
Rio Grande do Sul: 31.4%
São Paulo: 29%
Federal District: 27.3%
Santa Catarina: 26.3%
The IBGE also points out that the DF and eight states ended the year with monthly worker income above the country’s average (R$3,560).
The DF leads by far rankingexplained by the large contingent of public employees in the federal capital, who receive remuneration above the private sector average.
Federal District: R$6,320
São Paulo: R$4,190
Rio de Janeiro: R$4,177
Santa Catarina: R$4,091
Paraná: R$4,083
Rio Grande do Sul: R$ 3,916
Mato Grosso do Sul: R$3,727
Mato Grosso: R$ 3,688
Goiás: R$ 3,628
Average Brazil: R$ 3,560
Espírito Santo: R$3,497
Roraima: R$ 3,438
Rondônia: R$ 3,362
Minas Gerais: R$3,350
Tocantins: R$ 3,129
Amapá: R$ 3,089
Rio Grande do Norte: R$3,003
Sergipe: R$ 2,855
Acre: R$2,794
Amazon: R$2,733
Pernambuco: R$ 2,666
Paraíba: R$ 2,577
Piauí: R$ 2,561
Alagoas: R$ 2,531
Pará: R$ 2,508
Ceará: R$ 2,394
Bahia: R$ 2,284
Maranhão: R$ 2,228
When commenting on Pnad, research analyst William Kratochwill explains that the historic low in 2025 “results from the dynamism observed in the labor market, driven by the increase in real income”.
