In December 2015, the unemployment rate was estimated at 6.9%. This rate was the highest ever for the month of December since 2007 (7.4%). The average unemployment rate from January to December was estimated at 6.8% in 2015 and 4.8% in 2014. The 2.0 percentage points (p.p.) increase was the highest in the survey annual series, and also interrupted the downward trend taking place since 2010. However, in the comparison with the beginning of the series in 2003, when the rate had been 12.3%, there was a fall of 5.5 p.p.

In 2015, the annual average of the unemployed population was estimated at 1.7 million, a figure 42.5% above the average of 2014 (1.2 million persons). Besides being the highest growth in the series, the increase in 2015 interrupted the downward trend seen in this population since 2010. However, in relation to 2003 (2.7 million), the number of the unemployed fell 35.5%, which means that in this period, the reduction was of 940 thousand unemployed persons.

The annual average of the employed population in 2015 was estimated at 23.3 million persons, with a decrease of 1.6% in relation to 2014, when that figure was 23.7 million. In 2014, this population contracted for the first time (-0.1%) along the annual series, sharpening the decrease in 2015.

The average percentage of workers with a formal labor contract in the private sector in relation to the employed population changed from 50.9% (12.1 million) in 2014 to 50.3% (11.7 million) in 2015.   Between 2014 and 2015, there was a 2.7% reduction (329 thousand people less) in the contingent of workers with a formal contract, registering the first annual drop all over the series. In 2003, this proportion reached 39.7% (7.5 million). Therefore, in 13 years, this contingent expanded 57.1% (4.3 million persons more).

In 2015, after ten years of annual gains in a row, the annual average of the real earnings of the employed (R$ 2,265.09) recorded a 3.7% loss in relation to 2014; it was, therefore, the first drop since 2004. All areas had losses, with a highlight to Belo Horizonte (-4.6%), Rio de Janeiro (-4.0%) and São Paulo (-4.0%). In the comparison between 2015 and 2003, there was increase of 28.4% in the income from work of the employed population, which represented a gain of around R$ 501.25.

The annual average of the usual real monthly wage bill in 2015 was estimated at R$ 53.6 billion, recording the first annual contraction in the series (-5.3%). Yet, compared with 2003, the rise was of 59.2%.

The Monthly Employment Survey (PME) is conducted in the Metropolitan Areas of Recife, Salvador, Belo Horizonte, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Porto Alegre. The complete publication can be accessed here.

Employment population ratio of youngsters back to 2003's figure

The employment population ratio (proportion between the employed population and the working-age population) reached 51.9% in 2015, falling 1.4 p.p. in relation to 2014 (53.3%). That was the highest annual indicator, which can be explained by the reduction in 2015. Compared to 2003, when this indicator was 50.0%, there was expansion of 1.9 p. p.

The employment-population ratio among women (44.3%) remains below that of men (61.0%), however, it recorded increase in relation to 2003: 0.1 p.p. (men) and 3.8 p.p. (women). As to the employment population ratio among the youngsters aged 18 to 24, the proportion went from 57.3% in 2014 to 53.8% in 2015, a fall of 3.5 p.p., which led the employment population ratio to the same value observed in 2003.

Employed population in domestic services up 1.5%

From 2014 to 2015, the activity domestic services presented growth of 1.5% in the contingent of the employed, reversing the downward trend started in 2010. All the other groups had falls, the major ones in industry (-5.5%) and in construction (-3.6%).

The distribution of the employed population in the several groups did not post great changes, the main activities were trade; repair of motor vehicles and personal and household objects and trade of automotive fuel (from 18.6% to 18.8%), services rendered to enterprises (from 16.4% to 16.5%), education, health, social services and public administration (from 17.0% to 17.2%) and other services (from 18.5% to 18.7%).

Employers and workers without a formal contract have the highest earnings loss

From 2014 to 2015, earnings decreased in almost all forms of insertion in the labor market: workers with a formal labor contract in the private sector (3.3%), workers without a formal contract in the private sector (5.1%), military and statutory civil servants (-1.8%), self-employed (4.1%) and employers (-6.2%).

The falling trend is also widespread when the disaggregation by activity groups is carried out. Construction (-5.2%), trade, repair of motor vehicles and of personal and household objects (5.6%), services rendered to enterprises (-5.1%) and industry (-4.2%) registered the major falls in 2015. However, over 2003, real gain prevailed in all groups, mainly in those with the lowest earnings: construction (51.1%) and domestic services (67.9%).

Earnings of black or brown persons are 59.2% of the earnings of white persons

The survey also presented disparities between the income earned by men and women, and also by whites and blacks or browns. In 2015, on average, women made about 75.4% of men's earnings, which represented an increase of 1.2 p.p. over 2014 (74.2%). The smallest proportion was recorded in 2007 (70.5%).

The earnings of black and brown workers, from 2003 to 2015, increased 52.6%, whereas that of white workers did by 25.0%. Nevertheless, even with this significant growth in 13 years, black or brown workers earned, on average, in 2015, 59.2% of the earnings of white workers. It should be noted that in 2003 the proportion did not reach half of it (48.4%).

In 2015, 22% of the employed had finished higher education

From 2003 to 2015, the proportion of employed persons with 11 or more years of schooling grew from 46.7% to 66.5%, an advance of 19.8 p.p., above the increase seen in the total population aged 10 or above, which stood at 16.7. The proportion of workers with a higher degree also increased: in 2003, they represented 13.8%, in 2015, this figure surpassed one fifth of the employed (22.0%).

Results of December 2015: unemployment rate falls to 6.9%

The unemployment rate in December 2015 was estimated at 6.9% for the set of the six Metropolitan Areas surveyed, recording decrease of 0.6 p.p. over November. In relation to December 2014 (4.3%), the rate is up 2.6 p.p.

Documento sem título In regional terms, the monthly analysis showed that the unemployment rate over November fell in Rio de Janeiro (5.9% to 5.1%) and Porto Alegre (6.7% to 5.9%) and stood stable in the other areas. However, in the comparison with December 2014, there was growth of the rate in all the areas: in Recife, from 5.5% to 10.0% (4.5 p.p.); in Salvador, the rate went from 8.1% to 11.9% (3.8 p.p.); in Belo Horizonte, from 2.9% to 5.9% (3.0 p.p.); in Rio de Janeiro, from 3.5% to 5.1% (1.6 p.p.); in São Paulo from 4.4% to 7.0% (2.6 p.p.) and in Porto Alegre, from 3.6% to 5.9% (2.3 p.p.).

The number of unemployed in December 2015 (1.7 million persons) registered decrease of 7.6% (a decline by 142 thousand persons) over November. Compared with December 2014, it recorded an increase of 61.4% (659 thousand more persons searching for a job). In the analysis by areas, the number of the unemployed, in relation to November, presented a significant statistical fall in Rio de Janeiro (15.4%) and Porto Alegre (12.0%) and did not post change in the other areas. Compared with December 2014, unemployment increased in all the areas, the highest increase being in Belo Horizonte (97.9%) and the lowest in Salvador (46.0%).

The number of the unemployed (23.2 million persons) in December 2015 stood stable in the monthly analysis and fell 2.7% (641 thousand less persons) over December 2014. Regionally, the monthly analysis presented stability in the employment in all Metropolitan Areas. In the comparison with December 2014, there was decrease in Salvador (-5.4%; 97 thousand less persons), Porto Alegre (-4.7%; 95 thousand less persons), Belo Horizonte (-4.5%; 112 thousand less persons) and São Paulo (-3.1%; 319 thousand less persons). In Rio de Janeiro and in Recife, these figures did not change significantly.

In the analysis of the groups of activity from November to December 2015, there was stability in almost all the groups, except for Construction (-3.9%, 69 thousand less persons) and Industry (-3.6%, 123 thousand less persons) which presented decrease. Over December 2014, there was a fall in the employed in industry (-8.4%, 296 thousand less persons) and stability in the other employment groups.

The number of workers with a formal contract in the private sector, in December 2015, was estimated at 11.6 million, not posting any change in the monthly comparison. Over December 2014, there was a reduction of 603 thousand persons with a formal contract in the private sector (-5.0%). In regional terms, in the monthly comparison, there was stability in the contingent of workers with a formal contract in all the areas. In comparison with December 2014, Belo Horizonte (-7.4%), Porto Alegre (-7.4%), Rio de Janeiro (-5.5%), Recife (-5.5%) and São Paulo (-3.7%) registered drops. In Salvador, there was no significant change.

Average Usual Real Earnings

The average usual real earnings of workers in December 2015 was estimated at R$ 2,235.50. This result was 1.4% higher than the one seen in November (2,204.52) and 5.8% below the one seen in December 2014 (R$ 2,373.02). Regionally, in the monthly analysis, earnings fell in Belo Horizonte (-3.0%) and Salvador (-0.9%), and registered increase in Recife (2.9%), São Paulo (2.7%), Rio de Janeiro (1.4%) and Porto Alegre (0.9%). Over December 2014, there was widespread decrease throughout the areas, the highest in Rio de Janeiro (-10.9%) and the lowest in Porto Alegre (-3.5%).

Average Usual Real Earnings

The average usual real wage bill of the employed persons was estimated at 52.5 billion in December 2015, standing 1.6% above that of November. In the annual comparison, this estimate declined 8.5%.