The population who declares to be black and brown has fewer years of schooling and average income equivalent to half of that received by the white population, considering the group of six metropolitan areas investigated by the Monthly Employment Survey of IBGE. The unemployment rate is higher among black and brown persons (11.8%) than among white ones (8.6%).

In September 2006, the population who declares to be black or brown made up 42.8% of the 39,8 million persons 10 years of age or over in the six metropolitan areas surveyed by the Monthly Employment Survey (São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo, Salvador, Recife  and Porto Alegre). PME follows the system of classification of color or race used in the household surveys of IBGE, in which the informant chooses one among five options: white, black, brown, yellow or indigenous.

The white and yellow populations made up, together, only 0.8% of the overall number of persons 10 years of age or over in the group of six metropolitan areas. Because of these low figures, no specific references to them have been made. The black and brown populations were put together into one same group, accounting for 42.8% of the population at active age (PIA), whereas the white ones accounted for 56.5%. Salvador had the highest proportion of black and brown persons (82.1%) and Porto Alegre the lowest one (13.1%), as shown in the graph below.

Amount of schooling is lower among black and brown persons

There is also unevenness in terms of educational indicators. The black and brown population at active age had 7.1 years of schooling, on average, and had fewer years of schooling than the white population (8.7 years, on average). It was also observed that 6.7% of the black and brown persons between 10 and 17 years of age did not use to attend school; among whites the figure was 4.7%. Whereas 25.5% of the white population over 18 years of age were enrolled in or had already attended undergraduate courses, the percentage was only 8.2% in the black and brown population. However, there was some improvement in this indicator: in September 2002, only 6.7% of black and brown persons were enrolled in or had already attended any undergraduate course. 

In Salvador, where whites and blacks and browns had the highest amount of schooling, there was also the biggest difference between the two groups: the white population had 2.4 more years of schooling than the black and brown group. On average, the whites studied up to high school; the blacks and browns did not even finish elementary school.  

Still with reference to education, it was observed that 20.1% of blacks and browns 10 years of age or over had some type of professional qualification, whereas among the white population this percentage reached 25.3%. This indicator increased significantly, since the figures were 13.2% in 2002  (among blacks and browns) and 16.5% (for whites). The most relevant differences by area occurred in São Paulo (where 28.5% of the white persons had a qualification course, versus 20.0% of blacks and browns) and in Belo Horizonte (35.8% and 28.2%, respectively).

In four metropolitan areas, blacks and browns area the majority among those looking for a job

Although the group of blacks and browns accounts for less than half (42.8%) of the population at active age (PIA), they represented the majority (50.8%) of the unemployed population. The uneven participation in the job market is also seen once the unemployment rate of blacks and browns (11.8%) is compared to that relative to the white population (8,6%).

Both in areas predominantly inhabited by blacks and browns and in areas in which whites were the majority, the participation of blacks and browns in the group of persons looking for a job was bigger than the participation of those who were already employed or non-active. In Salvador, for instance, blacks and browns made up 82.1% of the PIA; 81.6% of the employed population and 81.5% of the non-active population, but made up 89.1% of the unemployed, as shown in the picture below¹:

In September 2006, among the workers with a formal contract in the private sector (who are legally protected and receive better compensation), 59.7% were white and 39.8% black / brown. The biggest participation of whites in this group can be see as a consequence of their presence in the formally employed population of the metropolitan areas (São Paulo and Porto Alegre), where, respectively, 44.9% and 44.2% of the employed population have a formal employment contract. In Salvador and Recife there is a relevant number of blacks and browns and a lower number of legally employed members in this group: 35.2% and 32.1%, respectively.

The white population was also predominant among workers without an employment contract (54.5%) and own-account workers (55.0%), but the blacks and whites accounted for 57.8% of the domestic workers.  

In the predominantly white areas, white workers were the majority in all the categories of occupation, as well as in the areas with a bigger black/brown population. Even so blacks and browns were the majority among domestic workers.

By group of activity, in the group of six metropolitan areas, construction and domestic services were the ones in which the population of blacks and browns was predominant. They made up 55.4% of the employed persons in construction and 57.8% of the persons employed in domestic activities. The activity with the lowest level of participation of blacks and browns was Services rendered to enterprises, financial mediation and real estate activities, with 34.6%. The table with the contributions by area is shown below.

It is important to point out that the participation of the black and brown population in the groups of construction and domestic services are relatively higher than in other activities, both in the areas predominatly inhabited by blacks and browns and in the areas  predominantly inhabited by white persons.

Blacks and browns contribute less to social security

The reduced participation of blacks and browns in the job market, contrasted to the situation among the white population, can also be observed considering the low percentages of domestic workers (5.1%), workers without a formal contract (7.2%) and own-account workers (9.8%) who paid for social security. Although also low, these percentages were considerably higher among the white population.

Average income of whites is twice as that of blacks and browns

In relation to income usually earned, it was observed that blacks and browns received, on average, R$ 660.45. This figure accounted for 51.1% of the income earned by whites (R$ 1292.19). This unevenness between the incomes of the two groups was repeatedly observed, even in comparisons done within the same group of activity, position in the occupation, or level of schooling. In all the areas, blacks and browns had lower incomes than whites, but in Salvador the differences were bigger: there, blacks and browns received little more than 1/3 of the salaries of white persons. Porto Alegre had the lowest difference between the incomes of both groups.

The real income/hour usually earned by blacks and browns (R$ 4.15) was about half of that earned by white persons (R$ 8.16), a proportion which has been maintained since 2002. The same occurred to average income.

By level of schooling, it was possible to realize that, except in some few cases², as the person became more educated, the higher the salaries they earned, both among blacks and browns and among whites.  

It is interesting to see, though, that when the amount of schooling increased from the level 8 to 10 years of age to the next one (with at least high school completed), the salary gain was significantly higher for whites: whereas blacks and browns had increase of 62.0% in the income, whites had increase of 250%.

In the analysis by position in the occupation, in the group of six metropolitan areas, the biggest difference observed referred to own-account workers: R$ 533.28 for blacks and browns versus R$ 1046.16 for whites. Domestic workers, on the other hand, presented the lowest difference: whites received 14.2% more than blacks and browns.

Except for domestic services, in Porto Alegre, in all the groups of activity, whites received higher incomes than blacks and browns, in the group of six metropolitan areas, and in each one of them. Therefore, in terms of income usually earned, blacks and browns received lower incomes than whites, even belonging to the same educational level, group of activity or position in the occupation.

Unevenness remains among persons over 18 year of age and with 11 or more years of schooling

The incomes were also investigated by selecting a more homogeneous group: men between 18 and 49 years of age and with 11 or more years of schooling.  Separated into groups of activity and position in the occupation, the subgroup kept the difference of income between whites and blacks and whites. This time, though still high, the difference in income observed was not for own-account workers (75.5%), but for workers without a formal contract in the private sector (97.9%). 

Another important aspect in this subgroup was the big difference between the income of whites and of blacks and browns in the construction subsector (105.6%).

Household income per capita of whites is twice that of blacks and browns

In the households whose persons of reference was black or brown, the income per capita, in the group of six metropolitan area, was R$ 417.23, whereas in the municipalities in which the head of the household was white, it was R$ 950.46. The ration between them is more than 2. In Salvador, the situation was even more serious: the ratio between these indicators was 3:1, as show in the graph below:

¹ The percentages do not reach 100% because the data relative to the yellow and the indigenous population were not included.

² In Rio de Janeiro, for the black population, and in Recife,  Salvador and Belo Horizonte, for the white population, persons with 1 to 3 years of schooling received, on average, lower salaries than workers without instruction.