PNAD Contínua Mensal
Unemployment falls to 6.4% in the quarter ended in September
October 31, 2024 09h00 AM | Last Updated: November 04, 2024 10h28 AM
The unemployment rate fell to 6.4% in the quarter from July to September 2024, down 0.5 percentage points (pp) compared to the quarter from April to June 2024 (6.9%) and down 1.3 pp compared to the same moving quarter in 2023 (7.7%). This was the second lowest unemployment rate in the time series of the IBGE's Continuous PNAD, which began in 2012, surpassing only the rate for the quarter ended in December 2013 (6.3%).
The number of persons who were not working but were looking for a job, that is, the unemployed population, fell to 7.0 million. It was the smallest contingent since the quarter ended in January 2015, with significant declines in both comparisons: -7.2% in the quarter, or 541 thousand less persons looking for work, and -15.8% compared to the same moving quarter in 2023, or 1.3 million less persons.
For Adriana Beringuy, coordinator of Household Surveys at the IBGE, “the downward trend in unemployment results from the continuous expansion of the numbers of workers who are being demanded by various economic activities”.
Industry and Trade drive new employment record
The number of workers in the country rose to 103.0 million, a new record for the Continuous PNAD. This employed population grew 1.2% in the quarter, or 1.2 million more workers. In the annual comparison, the increase was 3.2%, equivalent to 3.2 million more employed persons.
Industry and Trade were the activity groups that drove the increase in employment in the quarter, with increases of 3.2% and 1.5%, respectively, in their contingents. Together, these two groups absorbed 709 thousand workers, in the quarterly comparison (416 thousand in Industry and 291 thousand in Trade). In addition, the employed population in Trade was a record, reaching 19.6 million persons. The other groups remained stable in the quarterly comparison.
“The third quarter points to retention or growth of employed persons in most activity groups. In particular, industry recorded an increase in formal employment. In the retail sector, although the number of formal jobs has also increased, the predominant growth was through informal employment,” explains Ms. Beringuy.
In the annual comparison, seven groups (Industry, Construction, Trade, Transportation, Information and Communication, Administration and Other Services) increased their number of employees, while two (Lodging and Food and Domestic Services) remained stable. Only Agriculture and Livestock showed a decrease (-4.7%) in its employed population.
Private and public sectors have record numbers of employees
The number of employees in the private sector reached 53.3 million, a new record in the series, with an increase of 2.2% in the quarter and 5.3% in the year. The sector had new records in the number of employees with formal jobs (39.0 million) and without formal jobs (14.3 million). The number of formal employees in this sector grew by 1.5% (582,000 more persons) in the quarter and 4.3% (1.6 million more persons) in the year, while the number of employees without formal employment grew by 3.9% (540,000 more persons) and 8.1% (1.1 million more persons) respectively in the same comparisons.
The number of employed persons in the public sector reached a record of 12.8 million, keeping their number stable in the quarter and growing by 4.6% (568,000 more persons) in the year. This increase continues to be driven by the group of workers without a formal contract, which grew by 4.2% in the quarter and 9.1% in the year. The group of military personnel and civil servants remained stable in both comparisons.
Income remains stable in the quarter and grows 3.7% in the year
The average real earnings of employed persons was R$3,227 in the quarter ended in August, without no statistically significant change compared to the previous moving quarter and with an increase of 3.7% when compared to the same moving quarter in 2023.
The sum of the compensations of all workers, which is the wage bill, reached R$327.7 billion, remaining stable in the quarter and increasing 7.2% in the annual comparison.
More about the survey
Continuous PNAD is the main survey on the country's workforce. Its sample covers 211 thousand households, spread across 3,500 municipalities, which are visited every quarter. Around two thousand interviewers work on the survey, integrated into the collection network of more than 500 IBGE agencies.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the IBGE has implemented the collection of survey information by telephone starting on March 17, 2020. In July 2021, in-person collection was resumed. It is possible to confirm the identity of the interviewer on the website "Respondendo ao IBGE" or by calling 0800 721 8181, to check the interviewer's registration number, ID number or social security number (CPF), such data can be requested by the informant.
Check for more PNAD data on Sidra. The next release of the Monthly Continuous PNAD, for the quarter ending in October, will be on November 29.
