The unemployment rate in Q2 2024 fell to 6.9%, having decreased by 1.0 percentage point (p.p) from Q1 and reached its lowest figure for a second quarter since 2014 (6.9%). this decrease in unemployment in the country was observed in 15 dof the 27 Federation Units (FU). That is what shows the Continuous National Household Sample Survey (Continuous PNAD), released today by the IBGE. 

The highest unemployment rates came from Pernambuco (11.5%), Bahia (11.1%) and Federal District (9.7%) and the lowest, from Santa Catarina (3.2%), Mato Grosso (3.3%) and Rondônia (3.3%). Besides 15 Federation Units with major decreases in this rate, the other 12 did not record statistically significant changes in the indicator.

According to Adriana Beringuy, IBGE’s coordinator for Household Sample Surveys, “the fall of unemployment rate at national level in Q2 2024 was observed regionally, with significant drops in 15 Federation Units, from which Piauí and Bahia stand out. In these two FUs, decrease exceeded two percentage points. It is worth pointing out that in the states where the drop was not statistically significant, there was stability. Therefore, no state recorded increase of the unemployment rate from the first quarter of 2024."

Unemployment drops by more than 10% in all the ranges of period of job search

In Q2 2024, in all the ranges of period of job search, the unemployed population decreased by more than 10%: the group of persons searching for work for at least one month dropped by 11.0%, the number of those searching for work for one year to less than two years dropped by 15.2% and the range of those looking for two years and more recorded the main percent decrease: 17.3%.

In addition to that, the number of persons searching for work for two Years and more fell to 1.7 million, its lowest figure for a second quarter, since 2015. According to Adriana Beringuy, “the increase of employment has had a positive impact on those searching for work, as the period of job search decreased. The increase of demand for Workers in several activities, such as trade and services of low or high complexity, has added to the reduction of the period."

As an example, in this second quarter of 2024, the total number of persons looking for a job for two years or more reached its lowest o figure for a second quarter, since 2015”.

Santa Catarina has the lowest employment informality rate (27.1%) and Pará, the highest (55.9%)

The employment informality rate for Brazil was 38.6% of the employed population. The highest rates were those of (55.9%), Maranhão (55.7%) and Piauí (54.6%) and the lowest,  of Santa Catarina (27.1%), Federal District (29.8%) and São Paulo (31.2%). For the IBGE analyst, “The North and Northeast Regions have employment informality rates above the national average. The results from the biggest presence of self-employed workers without a CNPJ registration and, even among employed persons, of a lower coverage of formal employment contracts”. 

Employment informality rate is calculated considering employment in the private sector and domestic workers without a formal contract, besides workers and self-employed workers without a CNPJ registration and auxiliary family workers. 

Against Q1, earnings increase in the South and in the Northeast 

In Q2 2024, Against the previous quarter, the average real earnings of the employed population increased in the South (R$ 3,528) and Northeast (R$ 2,238), with stability in the other ones. Against the same quarter in 2023, average earnings increased in the South, Northeast and Southeast (R$ 3,627), with stability in the North (R$ 2,508) and Central West (R$ 3,641). 

Estimated at R$ 322.6 billion, average real wage bill from all Jobs in the country increased in both comparisons: against the previous quarter (R$ 311.8 billion) and also against Q2 2023 (R$ 295.4 billion). Against Q1 2024, the real wage bill increased in all the Major Regions, except in the Central West, which recorded stability. Among the five Major Regions in the country, the Southeast had the  highest real wage bill (R$ 165.0 billion) in Q2 2024. 

Unemployment rate of women is 8.6% and of men, 5.6% 

The unemployment rate by sex was 5.6% for men and 8.6% for women in Q2 2024. The unemployment rate by color or race was below the national average for White persons (5.5%) and above the average for black (8.5%) and brown persons (7.8%). 

The unemployment rate of persons with incomplete secondary education (11.5%) was higher than that of other levels of education. For persons with incomplete higher education, the rate was 7.1%, almost twice as that of persons with complete higher education (3.6%).

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 3,500 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 identity of the interviewers can be confirmed at the Answering the IBGE website or through the Call Center (0800 7218181), and their ID numbers can be requested by the informants.

See PNAD data at Sidra. The next release of the Quarterly PNAD, relative to the third quarter of 2024, will be on November 22.