• Highlights

• Brazil had 1.650 million children and teenagers aged 5 to 17 in child labor conditions in 2024.
• That means 34 thousand more youngsters in such conditions from 2023, a change of 2.1%. in spite of this increase, between 2016 and 2024 there was an increase of 21.4%.
• The percentage of persons in child labor conditions reached 4.3% in 2024, a change of 0.1 percentage points from a year ago (4.2%). In 2022, the figure was 4.9%, versus 5.2% in 2016, the start of the time series.
• More than half of the children and teenagers aged 5 to 17 (54.1%) did household tasks or were engaged in taking care of people.
• The proportion of teenagers between 16 and 17 years of age in child labor conditions is the highest among the age brackets, and increased from 14.7% in 2023 to 15.3% in 2024.
• Among persons aged 5 to 17 years of age in child labor conditions, 88.8% were students, against 97.7% of the total population in this age group.
• The biggest difference in school attendance is observed between teenagers aged 16 and 17: 90.5% attended school, whereas among those in child labor conditions, the share of students drops to 81.8%.
• The weekly shift of persons in child labor conditions increases with age. Also considering teenagers aged 16 and 17, almost half (49.2%) worked for at least 25 hours, and 30.3% worked for 40 hours or more.
• The proportion of teenagers aged 16 and 17 in informal employment was the lowest in the time series (69.4%). Youngsters in this age group are considered by Continuous PNAD to be in child labor conditions, regardless of the type of occupation or number of hours worked.
• The Northeast and South Regions recorded the biggest increases in terms of child labor from 2023: changes of 7.3% and 13.6%, respectively. The Northeast had the most significant decrease, of 12.1%.
• Between 2016 and 2024, the Northeast recorded the biggest decrease in this indicator (27.1%), whereas the Central West region was the only one with increase in the number of working children (7.0%).
• Black or brown persons were 66.0% of the population aged 5 to 17 in child labor conditions in 2024, whereas white persons represented 32.8%. Most of them were men (66.0%).
• The number of children and teenagers in the TIP List, which shows the worst forms of child labor, reached, in 2024, the lowest level in the time series (560 thousand persons). This indicator has had a trend to decrease since 2016.
• Among children and teenagers aged 5 to 17 in households that earned Bolsa família benefit, 5.2% were in child labor conditions, a proportion slightly above that for the total of persons in this age group (4.3%). However, over the time series, there has been a significant drop of the percentage of child labor among beneficiaries of the program.

Brazil had 1.650 million children aged 5 to 17 in child labor conditions in 2024, which represents 4.3% of the population in this age group. The result shows 34 thousand youngsters more in this condition, against the figure a year ago, when the proportion was the lowest in the time series (4.2%). Among these children and teenagers, 1.195 million carried out economic activities and 455 thousand produced for their own subsistence.  

Data, released today (19) by the IBGE, is part to the experimental module on Child and Teenage Labor of Persons Aged 5 to 17 within the Continuous National Household Sample Survey (PNAD). According to the International Labor Organization (ILO), child labor is work that is hazardous to a child’s health and development and interferes with a child’s right to education and to play. The concept considers criteria such as age group, type of activity developed, number of hours worked, school attendance, child labor considered dangerous and economic activities carried out in informal situations.

According to the survey analyst Gustavo Geaquinto, it is still not yet possible to determine whether there will be a reversal in child labor figures. “This positive change of 0.1 percentage points from 2023, may even indicate stability. For us to find out if there is a reversal of the downward trend or stabilization of the indicator, we need to see the result in the coming year. It is worth pointing out, though, that the cumulative figure in 2016-2024 indicates a significant drop in the number of working children and teenagers.”

The survey shows a bigger population of 1.957 million children and teenagers aged 5 to 17 who work in own-use production. Nevertheless, not all of them are considered to be in child labor conditions. “All the working children aged 5 to 13 are necessarily classified as being in child labor conditions. For those 14 to 17, that depends on some factors, such as school attendance, work shift and the type of activity carried out," Gustavo explains.

Child labor increases among teenagers aged 16 and 17, and 30% of them work 40 hours per week or more

The proportion of youngsters aged 16 and 17 in child labor conditions, in relation to the total population in this age group, is highest among the age groups of of the survey, and increased from 14.7%, in 2023, to 15.3%, in 2024. For children aged 5 to 13 and 14 and 15, this percentage reached 1.4% and 6.2%, respectively. In the distribution of the population aged 5 to 17 in child labor conditions, more than half (55.5%) were between 16 and 17; 22.0%, between 14 or 15, and 22.5% were between 5 and 13 years of age.

About 88.8% of the children and teenagers aged 5 to 17 in child labor conditions were studying, a percentage below the total population in this age group that were attending school (97.5%). Such discrepancy is most significant for persons 16 and 17 years of age: 81.8% of those in child labor conditions were studying, whereas 90.5% of this group were attending school.

"Among the youngest, aged 5 to 13, school attendance was widespread, regardless of the child labor status. However, data from the survey reveal more commitment to school attendance of children and teenagers in child labor conditions with the increase of age. The average number of hour worked in a week increases with the age, and that can also be a factor accounting for school dropout in older groups.”

Considering persons aged 16 and 17 in child labor conditions, in 2024, 22.2% worked up to 14 hours a week and almost half (49.2%), more than 25 hours, and 30.3% for 40 hours or more. Among the teenagers aged 14 and 15, 41.4% worked up to 14 hours and 29.0%, between 15 to 24 hours.  

In the age group of 5 to 13, 87.5% worked up to 13 hours a week. Among the total youngsters between 5 and 17 years of age in child labor conditions, 41.1% had a work shift of up to 14 hours per week, whereas 19.5% worked 40 hours or more.

Two thirds of the children and teenagers in child labor conditions are black or brown

Two thirds (66.0%) of the population aged 5 to 17 in child labor conditions is black or brown, whereas white ones made up 32.8%. In 2024, 3.6% of the reportedly white children and teenagers were in child labor conditions. The percentage of black or brown persons was bigger, 4,8%.

Men were 66.0% of the working children, whereas women represented 34.0%. From 2023 to 2024, the number of male children and teenagers in child labor conditions increased 5.4%, from 1.033 million to 1.089 million, whereas the female population in this condition dropped 3.9%, from 584 thousand to 561 thousand. 

Child labor increases significantly in the Northeast and South and decreases 12.1% in the North

The Northeast (547 thousand persons) and South (226 thousand persons) recorded the biggest increases among persons aged 5 to 17 from 2023: 7.3% and 13.6%, respectively. The Southeast and Central West varied slightly, with a change from 478 thousand to 475 thousand persons, and from 148 thousand to 153 thousand persons, respectively.

In the North, with 248 persons in child labor, was the only Major Region with a significant drop (-12.1%) between 2023 and 2024, in spite of the being the Major Region with the biggest proportion (6.2%) of children and teenagers in this situation. In the remaining Major Regions, the proportion of youngsters in child labor conditions was as follows: Northeast (5.0%), Central West (4.9%), South (4.4%) and Southeast (3.3%).

Against 2016, the total persons in child labor conditions decreased in all the Major Regions, except the Central West, with a positive change of 7.0%. In this period, the Northeast recorded the biggest drop (27.1%).

Number of persons in the worst forms of child labor (TIP List) is the lowest in the series

In 2024, about 560 thousand children and teenagers aged 5 to 17 thousand worked in the worst forms of child labor, working in activities that are part of the TIP List. That is the lowest figure in the time series that started in 2016, with a decrease of 5.1% in relation to  2023 (590 thousand persons). This number is equivalent to 37.2% of the 1.503 million children and teenagers engaged in economic activities. The drop in 2024 takes place after an even steeper one, observed in 2023, When the total number of persons in the TIP List dropped by 22.7% from 2022, the year when 763 thousand persons were in this condition.

“Continuous PNAD, besides classifying children and teenagers as being in child labor conditions, also identifies if their occupations are in the List of Worst forms of Child Labor, which encompasses occupations identified as those that can represent more occupational hazards and subsequent effects on the children of these children and teenagers,” Gustavo explains.

Among children and teenagers in the TIP List, 74.4% were men and 67.1% were black or brown. In the population aged 5 to 17 carrying out economic activities, the worst forms of child labor reached the youngest: 60.8% of the children and teenagers aged 5 to 13 conducting these activities carried out activities in the TIP List. In the group aged 14 and 15, this percentage was 51.8%. Among teenagers aged 16 and 17, 30.8% were in this condition.

According to the Household Sample Survey coordinator, Adriana Beringuy, it is important to highlight the downward trend of workers in the TIP List. “If we observe data since 2016, we can observe there is a trend to decrease in the TIP List. The peak was in 2022. But it is in a downward trend.”

In  2016, there were 919 thousand persons in the country working in the works forms of child labor. Between 2016 and 2024, there was a cumulative drop of 39.1% of children and teenagers in occupations found in the TIP List.

Inequalities in earnings by sex and color or race are reproduced among working children

The average earnings of the population aged 5 to 17 carried out in hazard child labor (TIP List) was only R$ 789 per month in 2024. These increases are lower than in the other groups of youngsters aged 5 to 17: R$ 845 (in child labor conditions) and R$ 1,083 (not classified as child labor). For the total of persons carrying out economic activities, the average earnings was R$ 905.

The average earnings of working male children amounted to R$ 924, whereas female ones earned R$ 693. Among black and brown persons, average earnings reached R$ 789, and increased to R$ 943 among white persons. Average yield increased with age, ranging between R$ 217, for persons 5 to 13 years of age, and reaching an average of R$ 917 among those aged 16 and 17 anos. 

The average earnings of working children who were also students was R$ 785, and, for those not attending school, R$ 1,132. Accrding to the survey analyst, this difference can reflecr disparities both in the composition of age group and in the average number of hours spent at work. 

Child labor drops among Bolsa Família beneficiaries, but is still above the overall average 

In 2024, about 13.8 million children and teenagers aged 5 to 17 lived in households benefited by the Bolsa Família Program, a total of 36.3% in this age group.  

Among the households with children and teenagers aged 5 to 17, per capita average earnings of those receiving Bolsa Família (R$ 604) represented one-third of the earnings of non-benefited ones (R$ 1,812).

Considering children and teenagers aged 5 to 17 in housing units receiving Bolsa Família in 2024, 5.2% were in child labor conditions (717 thousand), against 7.3% in 2016. For the total number of persons in this age group, the percentage changed from 5.2% in 2016 to 4.3% in 2024. “Prevalence of child labor remains a little higher among Bolsa Família beneficiaries, in comparison with the total population 5 to 17 years of age, but has dropped fast thoughout the series. In 2024, the difference fell to only 0.9 percentage points,” Gustavo points out. 

The analysis of students' conditions shows the percentage of those among working children who lived in households receiving Bolsa Família (91.2%) was slightly above that in relation to the total children and teenagers in child labor conditions (88.8%).

Informalidade entre adolescentes de 16 e 17 anos cai para menor nível desde 2016

Entre os adolescentes de 16 e 17 anos que realizavam atividades econômicas, 69,4% estavam na informalidade, o equivalente a 756 mil jovens. Foi a menor taxa de informalidade da série histórica, que chegou ao auge em 2022 (76,3%). Em 2016, ano inicial da série, a taxa de informalidade desse grupo etário foi de 75,3%. Pessoas dessa faixa etária na informalidade são considerados em situação de trabalho infantil pela PNAD Contínua, independentemente do tipo de ocupação ou da quantidade de horas trabalhadas.

A maior parte das crianças e adolescentes de 5 a 17 anos em trabalho infantil atuavam no Comércio e reparação de veículos (30,2%) ou na Agricultura, pecuária, produção florestal, pesca e aquicultura (19,2%). Alojamento e alimentação respondiam por 11,6%; Indústria geral, 9,3% e Serviços domésticos, 7,1%. Os demais grupamentos somavam 22,7%.

Os trabalhadores infantis estavam, principalmente, em atividades não agrícolas (80,8%), fossem como empregados (64,4%), trabalhadores familiares auxiliares (22,8%) e ocupados por conta própria ou empregadores (12,8%).

Trabalho não isenta crianças e adolescentes das tarefas domésticas 

Entre os 37,9 milhões de crianças e adolescentes de 5 a 17 anos de idade do país, 54,1% (20,5 milhões) realizavam afazeres domésticos ou cuidado de pessoas em 2024. A proporção é maior (74,0%) entre jovens que realizavam atividades econômicas. Entre os que não realizavam tais atividades, a proporção era de 53,3%. 

“O trabalho em atividades produtivas não poupou boa parte das crianças e adolescentes da realização de afazeres domésticos ou cuidado de pessoas. Entre aquelas que realizavam atividades econômicas, havia maior proporção de pessoas ocupadas com essas incumbências domésticas do que entre as que não realizavam atividades econômicas, sendo essa diferença mais acentuada entre as crianças e adolescentes mais novos”, conclui Gustavo.