The unemployment rate was estimated in 5.8%, recording a nonsignificant change of -0.2 percentage points against April 2012 (6.0%).  Compared with May last year (6.4%), there was a contraction of 0.6 percentage points. The unemployed population (1.4 million persons) was stable in relation to the previous month and posted a drop of 7.1% against May 2011 (107 thousand fewer persons in that condition).    The employed population (23 million) rose by 1.2% in comparison to April.  Against May 2011, there was a rise of 2.5% in this estimate, accounting for additional 554 thousand employed persons. The number of workers with a formal contract in the private sector (11.2 million) did not record change in relation to April. In the annual comparison, there was an increase of 3.9%, accounting for additional 427 thousand jobs with a formal contract.

The employed persons’ real average income usually earned (R$ 1,725.60), did not record any change and rose 4.9% if compared to May 2011. The volume of real income usually earned (40.0 billion) increased 1.2% in relation to April and 7.5% in relation to May 2011. The volume of effective real income of the employed (R$ 39.6 billion), estimated in April 2012, rose by 0.7% in the month and 6.9% in the year.

The Monthly Employment Survey is conducted in the metropolitan regions of Recife, Salvador, Belo Horizonte, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Porto Alegre. The complete publication can be accessed at www.ibge.gov.br/english/estatistica/indicadores/trabalhoerendimento/pme_nova/.

In the monthly analysis, the volume of the unemployed (people without a job trying to get in the market) remained stable.   Contrasting with May 2011, there was a downfall in the number of the unemployed in the metropolitan region of Salvador (-23.8%). In the remaining regions there were not significant changes.

Employment level stays at 54.2%

The employment level (proportion of employed people in relation to people in a working age) estimated at 54.2% in the total of the six regions, grew 0.5 percentage points over last April and 0.6 percentage points in relation to May last year. Regionally, in the monthly comparison, there was a high of 0.8 percentage points in the metropolitan region of São Paulo. Over May 2011, this indicator rose 1.2 percentage points in Rio de Janeiro.

The analysis of the volume of the employed according to the activity groups, from April to May 2012, revealed that only the group of Education, health, social services, public management, defense and social security recorded change (2.7%, 100 thousand more people). As compared to May 2011, there were increases in the groups of Construction (4.8%, 83 thousand more people), services provided to companies, renting, real estate activities and financial intermediation (4.9%, 176 thousand more people), in Education, health, social services, public management, defense and social security (6.1%, 217 thousand more people) and in Other services (3.6%, 140 thousand more people).

In the annual comparison, average income increases in three of the six regions

In the regional analysis, the workers’ real average income usually earned (R$ 1,725.60 in the total of the six regions) rose against April in Recife (4.0%), São Paulo (0.5%) and in Belo Horizonte (0.4%). It posted a decrease in Salvador (6.6%) and Porto Alegre (1.2%) and remained stable in Rio de Janeiro.  In the comparison with May last year, the income grew in all regions:

Unemployment stabilizes in all metropolitan regions against April 2012

The unemployment rate (proportion of unemployed persons in relation to the economically active population - which comprises the employed and unemployed) was estimated in 5.8% for the six metropolitan regions. Regionally, in the monthly analysis, the unemployment rate did not record a significant change in any of the metropolitan regions surveyed. In the comparison with May 2011, the rate contracted 2.5 percentage points in the metropolitan region of Salvador and kept stable in the other regions:

Regarding the classification by groups of activities, the highest increase in the real average  income usually earned against May 2011 was of 9.7%, concerning Domestic services:

Conversely, in the classification by employment type, the highest increase in the real average income usually earned compared with May 2011 was for Self-employed persons (11.5%):