The drop in the unemployment rate in the country was observed by eight of the 27 Federation Units between the 3rd and the 4th quarters of 2022. Whereas the national index fell by 0.8 percentage points, with a change from 8.7% to 7.9%, the states of Mato Grosso de Sul (-1.8 p.p.), Pernambuco (-1.6 p.p.) and Bahia (-1.6 p.p.) recorded the most significant decreases. On the other hand, Amapá was the only Federation Unit to record an increase (2.5 p.p.) and, among the 18 states with stability 15 were on a downward trend. These data come from the Continuous National Household Sample Survey (Continuous PNAD), released today (28) by the IBGE.

“The decrease of this indicator in Q4 is a known occurrence already.” In general terms, there is a trend to decrease of the unemployment rate that can be caused by the increase in the number of workers, due to temporary employment, or by the very reduction of job search in the last two weeks of December. In 2022, the decrease of the rate in Q4 was mostly a result of the lower unemployment, once the employed population was stable in the period,” says Adriana Beringuy, IBGE’s Labor and Income coordinator.

Thirteen Federation Units recorded rates below the national index, whereas other 14 were above that level. The lowest rates were those of Rondônia (3.1%), Santa Catarina (3.2%), Mato Grosso de Sul (3.3%) and Mato Grosso (3.5%), whereas the highest were in Bahia (13.5%), Amapá (13.3%), Pernambuco (12.3%) and Sergipe (11.9%).

Beringuy also highlights the decrease of 3.2 p.p. in comparison with Q4 2021, when the rate stood at 11.1%. “In this comparison, all the Federation Units recorded significant decrease, and had a very different scenario from the previous year, indicating a process of recovery that has been very important since 2020, when there were high unemployment rates due to the pandemic.”

Informality rate fell from 39.4% in Q3 2022 to 38.8% of the employed population in the 4th quarter. In the same period of 2021, it was 40.7%. The highest informality rates were those of Pará (60.8%), Maranhão (57.4%) and Amazonas (57.0%) and the lowest, of Santa Catarina (25.9%), Federal District (29.7%) and São Paulo (30.5%).

The coordinator highlights that all the five Major Regions record a trend to reduction of informality in the annual comparison, although the regional characteristics are kept, with the North (55.7%) and Northeast (51.4%) recording more than half of the workers as informal workers. Among the states, Beringuy highlights, in the annual comparison, the decreases in Goiás (from 41% to 36,7%), Pernambuco (from 52.6% to 48.4%) and Federal District (from 33.7% to 29.7%).

Earnings increase in the year and in the quarter

In Q4 2022, real average earnings from all the activities was R$ 2,808, an increase of 1.9% against the quarter July-September 2022 (R$ 2,757) and of 8.3% in relation to the same quarter a year ago (R$2,594).

In the comparison between Q3 and Q4 2022, only the Central West and Southeast recorded increases and the others had statistical stability. Against Q4 2021, all the Major Regions and 16 Federation Units recorded increases in average yield, with a highlight to bigger increases in Mato Grosso do Sul (19.2%) and Mato Grosso (17.8%).

“This increase in earnings is related to the process of inflation deceleration and also the increase in the number of formal workers, mainly those with a formal employment contract,” says the coordinator

About 3.7 million had been searching for work between one month and less than a year

In the entire country, 43.6% of the unemployed had been looking for a job between one month and less than a year. For 11.6%, the search had been lasting from a year to less than two years and, for 25.62%, two years or more. Nearly 19.3% of them had been looking for a job for less than a month.

In relation to the same period a year ago, there was an increase of 4.5% among those who had been looking for less than a month and reduction in other ranges. From one month to less than a year, decrease went from 21.2%, between one year and less than two years, -51.6%, and for more than two years, -39.8%.

Women, black and brown persons remain unemployed above the national average

The unemployment rate by sex was 6.5% among men and 9.8% among women in Q4 2022. The unemployment rate by color or race was below the national average among white persons (6.2%) and above average for black and brown persons (9.9% and 9,2%, respectively).

The unemployment rate among persons with incomplete high school education (13.9%) surpassed rates of other levels of schooling. Among persons with incomplete higher education, the rate was 8.4%, more than twice as that registered for complete higher education (3.9%).

More about the survey

The Continuous PNAD is the main instrument to monitor workforce in Brazil. The survey sample per quarter corresponds to 211 thousand households surveyed in Brazil. Nearly two thousand interviewers work in the survey in 26 states and in the Federal District, integrated to the data collection network of more than 500 IBGE branches.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the IBGE implemented data collection by telephone on March 17, 2020. In July 2021, face-to-face data collection was resumed. The id of the interviewers can be confirmed at the Answering the IBGE website or through the Call Center (0800 7218181) by checking their ID numbers, which can be requested by the informants. See PNAD data at Sidra.