The record number of jobs registered in the quarter ended in October this year (103.6 million) was caused by the performance of both jobs with a formal contract and those without a formal contract. The number of employees in the private sector with a formal contract (except domestic workers) reached 39 million, the highest level in the historical series of the Continuous National Household Sample Survey (Pnad), started in 2012.
There were increases of 1.2% compared to the previous quarter (ended in July this year) and 3.7% compared to the quarter ended in October last year.
Jobs without a formal contract reached 14.4 million, also a record in the historical series. The increases for those without a formal contract were even more significant than those recorded for formal jobs: increases of 3.7% in the quarterly comparison and 8.4% in the annual comparison.
“In formal employment in the private sector, we highlight the industry that, when expanding, brings with it formal growth. In the case of employment without a formal contract, we have, influencing this growth, the expansion seen in construction and other services”, explains IBGE researcher Adriana Beringuy.
The informal population, which includes unregistered workers and those self-employed without CNPJ, reached 40.3 million, an increase of 2.1% in relation to the previous quarter, an increase greater than that recorded by the total employed population (1.5 %).
The informality rate, that is, the percentage of informal workers in relation to the total employed population, was 38.9%, compared to 38.7% in the quarter ended in July and 39.1% in the same quarter of 2023.
Activities
In comparison with the previous quarter, the sectors that stood out most in terms of job creation were industry (2.9%), construction (2.4%) and other services (3.4%). No activity showed a drop in this type of comparison.
In relation to the quarter ended in October last year, increases were recorded in industry (5%), construction (5.1%), commerce (3.3%), transport, storage and mail (5.7%), information and communication (4.5%), public administration, health and education (4.4%) and other services (7.2%). Only agriculture recorded a loss of jobs (-5.3%).
According to Pnad Contínua, the employment level, which represents the percentage of employed people in relation to those of working age, rose to 58.7%, another record in the historical series.
Unemployment rate
The unemployment rate was 6.2% in the quarter ending in October this year, the lowest since 2012. The previous quarter, ending in July this year, had recorded a rate of 6.8%. In October last year, it was 7.6%.
The unemployed population fell to 6.8 million, the lowest number since the quarter ended in December 2014.
“The labor market indicators are very consistent. It is an improvement that has been sustained quarter after quarter. And it has surpassed records from 2013 and 2014, considered, in terms of some indicators, the best moment in the job market”, says Adriana Beringuy.
The worker’s real average income (R$3,255) was very close to the previous record, from the quarter ended in July 2020 (R$3,292). The difference, according to the researcher, is that at that time, at the height of the pandemic, there was a lot of job loss, especially informal jobs, which have lower income, which contributed to raising the average income.
This time, income grew along with the increase in the employed population. Compared to the quarter ending in October 2023, revenue increased by 3.9%. Since October 2022, the indicator has been showing increases.
The underutilized population, that is, those who are looking for a job or who could work more than they currently do, reached 17.8 million, the lowest since the moving quarter ended in May 2015 (17.7 million).
The composite underutilization rate (15.4%) was the lowest for a quarter ending in October since 2014 (14.8%).
The discouraged population, that is, those who would like to work and were available, but who did not look for work for various reasons (they would not be able to get suitable work, they did not have professional experience, there was no work in the locality, they were too young or too old), added 3 million. It is the smallest discouraged population since the quarter ended in April 2016 (2.9 million).
