In 2019, the number of enterprises and other formal organizations in the country reached 5.2 million. After three years of decline, the number of enterprises grew by 6.1% (301.4 thousand more branches) compared to 2018. Among enterprises with at least one person employed, the increase was 3.4% (161.8 thousand more). This information comes from the Statistics of the Central Register of Enterprises (CEMPRE) 2019.

This edition uses information from the Digital Bookkeeping System for Tax, Social Security and Labor Obligations - eSocial, which is gradually replacing the Annual Social Information Report - RAIS. This edition also brings methodological adjustments used for the selection of active branches.

Salaried employed persons grew by 1.7% (758.6 thousand persons) and the number of partners and owners increased by 3.6% (244.1 thousand persons). Total salaries and other compensation dropped by 0.7% in real terms, but the average monthly salary dropped even further: 3.5%. From 2018 to 2019, Administrative activities and complementary services created 188,000 new job positions, while the Education sector lost nearly 40,000.

For the 1st time, CEMPRE brings information on enterprises that participate in foreign trade. In 2019, exporting enterprises represented 0.4% of active organizations, or 22,849 companies, which employed 5 million persons (10.8% of total employees). Imports were carried out by 38,672 organizations (0.7% of the total) with 8.3 million employees (17.8% of the total). In exporting organizations, earnings were 41% above the national average, and in importing organizations, 47%. Almost all exporters were from Industry (62.5%) and Trade (30.1%).

In 2019, the Central Register of Enterprises (CEMPRE) had 5.2 million enterprises and other active formal organizations, which employed 53.2 million persons, of which 46.2 million (86.8%) were salaried and 7.0 million (13.2%) were partners or owners. Compared to 2018, there was an increase of 6.1% in the total number of active enterprises and other organizations, representing 301.4 thousand branches. However, part of the increase in the number of enterprises from 2018 to 2019 was impacted by the change in CEMPRE's main source of information, RAIS, which, in 2019, also started to incorporate eSocial information. This source, unlike RAIS, does not allow us to know whether the establishment self-declared having exercised its main activity in the reference year.

There was, for example, a 35.8% increase in the number of organizations without any workers or partners-owners in 2019. Among these entities, it is more difficult to identify whether the organization is active or not. On the other hand, among enterprises with at least one person employed, the increase was 3.4% (or 161.8 thousand more branches). In enterprises with 1 to 9 employees, the growth was 3.9% and in the other groups, it ranged from 1.1% to 1.9% (table below).

Comparisons of 2019 data with previous years of the time series of CEMPRE should take into account possible impacts of the change from RAIS to eSocial, and its implications for the identification of active branches, as described in technical note 01/2021.

In the sectors analyzed by CEMPRE, Professional, scientific and technical activities were the ones that grew the most among the organizations that have between 0 and 9 persons employed (1.4%). Among those with 250 or more employees, the highlight was Trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (0.4%).

Trade employs 19.3% of workers and Industry, 15.9%

Proportionately, Trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles leads in enterprises and other organizations (34.2%), employed persons (21.3%) and salaried workers (19.3%), but it was in third place (12.6%) in salaries and other compensation.

The section Public administration, defense and social security was in second place for salaried persons (16.8%) and was first in salaries and other compensation (25.0%).

Manufacturing industries were in third place in terms of employed persons (14.6%), in second place in salaries and compesnations (16.3%), and in third place in number of enterprises (7.5%) and salaried workers (15 .6%).

Administrative activities and complementary services came in second place in number of enterprises (9.8%) and in fourth place in employed persons (9.5%) and salaried persons (9.7%).

Education had the biggest loss of salaried employed persons

From 2018 to 2019, the biggest increases in salaried personnel were in Financial activities, insurance and related services (11.3%) and in Information and communication (6.0%), while the biggest losses were in Education (-1.2 %), especially in Secondary Education activities, and in Other service activities (-0.8%).

Of the 758.6 thousand new salaried positions created between 2018 and 2019, Administrative activities and complementary services accounted for 24.8% (or 187.9 thousand new jobs). This sector encompasses, among other activities, Temporary labor leasing and combined office and administrative support services, which contributed with 37.4 thousand and 69.1 thousand new jobs, respectively.

Financial activities, insurance and related services created 14.8% of the new job positions and Trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles, 13.5%.

Only 2.7% of salaried personnel work in the three best paid activities

In 2019, the national average monthly salary was R$2,975.74. The highest average monthly salaries were paid by the Electricity and Gas sections (R$ 7,185.14), Financial activities, insurance and related services (R$ 5,941.42) and International organizations and other extraterritorial institutions (R$ 5,857,13). However, these three activities, taken together, employed only 2.7% of the country's salaried persons (or 1.2 million persons).

The lowest average salaries were for Lodging and food (R$ 1,534.67), Administrative activities and complementary services (R$ 1,813.77) and Trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (R$1,942.80). These activities together account for 33.2% of the salaried employed persons (15.3 million persons) in the country.

Of the total number of active enterprises and other organizations in 2019, 87.9% had up to 9 employed persons; 10.4%, 10 to 49 persons; 1.3%, 50 to 249 persons; and 0.4%, 250 persons and over. The highest average salaries were paid by organizations with 250 persons and over (R$3,780.12) and the lowest by those with up to 9 persons (R$1,612.60).

Women represent 44.8% of salaried personnel in the labor market

In 2019, 55.2% of the salaried employed persons were men and 44.8% were women.

In 2019, men earned an average monthly salary (BRL 3,188.03) higher than that of women (BRL 2,713.92), which represents a difference of 17.5%. Women earned, on average, 85.1% of the average monthly salary of men.

About 76.9% of salaried workers had no higher education. The average salary of those without higher education was R$ 2,061.70 and that of those with higher education was R$ 6,002.97.

90.6% of active organizations are business entities

In 2019, business entities comprised 90.6% of active organizations, 74.8% of employed persons, 71.6% of salaried employees and 60.8% of salaries and salaries. Public administration accounted for 0.4% of enterprises and other organizations, 18.6% of employed persons and 21.4% of salaried workers, in addition to 32.5% of salaries and salaries.

Non-profit entities, in turn, represented 9.0% of active organizations and recorded the lowest participation in the analyzed variables, with 6.6% of the total employed persons, 7.0% of salaried workers and 6.6% of salaries and other compensation.

Compared to 2018, the number of business entities grew (6.4%), as did employed persons (2.6%) and salaried persons (2.4%), while total salaries and other compensations fell by 1.3%. The number of public administration organizations grew 1.4%, with stability in employed persons and salaried workers, and an increase of 0.5% in salaries and compensation.

The number of non-profit entities increased 3.0% and the other variables decreased: employed persons (-0.4%), salaried persons (-0.3%) and salaries and other compensation (-1.1%).

Business entities paid the lowest average monthly salaries (R$2,530.50) and public administration bodies, the highest (R$4,489.39). In non-profit entities, the average salary was R$2,860.12.

Between 2018 and 2019, average monthly wages had a real decrease of 3.5%, but in public administration there was an increase of 1.0%. In business entities, there was a drop of 5.4% and in non-profit entities, a reduction of 1.4%.

Number of local branches grew 6.3% compared to 2018

The number of local branches grew by 6.3% between 2018 and 2019, reaching 5.8 million, and employing 53.2 million persons, of which 46.2 million were salaried earning a total of R$1.8 trillion in salaries and other compensation.

The increase in the number of local branches was more significant in the Central-West (7.7%), Southeast and North (7.0% in both). In the Northeast, growth was 3.2%. The Southeast concentrated 51.0% (or 3.0 million) of the country's local branches and 49.6% (or 26.4 million) of the employed persons, who earned R$ 955.1 billion in salaries and compensation (52, 5% of the total).

São Paulo was the state with the highest share in participations in all variables, with 31.0% of the number of local branches; 28.8% of the total employed persons; 28.6% of salaried employed persons; and 32.1% of salaries and other compensation. Next, is Minas Gerais with 10.6% of local branches and 10.4% of total employed persons. On the other hand, Roraima, Acre and Amapá registered the smallest participations in the four analyzed variables, with values ​​ranging between 0.1% and 0.3%.

The average monthly salary of local branches in the country was 3.0 minimum wages. The highest salaries were paid in the Central-West (3.5 minimum wages) and Southeast (3.2). In the South and North, the average value of compensation was around 2.8 minimum wages and, in the Northeast, 2.4.

In 12 years, the number of enterprises in Brazil increased 18.5%

Between 2007 and 2019, the number of enterprises and other formal Brazilian organizations grew 18.5% (or 818.9 thousand more organizations), from 4.4 million to 5.2 million.

The annual relative change in the number of enterprises and other organizations was positive between 2007 and 2010, null in 2011 and grew again in 2012 and 2013. However, between 2014 and 2018, due to the poor performance of GDP, this rate was negative in almost the entire period, with the exception of 2015, when it increased by 0.2%. In 2019, there was an increase again (6.1%).

The participation of Trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles, which represented 46.0% of enterprises active in the country in 2007, dropped to 34.2% in 2019. There were also decreases in Other service activities (from 7.9% to 4.8%) and in Manufacturing industries (from 9.0% to 7.5%). The participation of Professional, scientific and technical activities rose from 4.1% to 7.3%, and Health and social services, from 2.5% to 5.3%.

The salaried employed persons grew 26.1% in the period, from 36.7 million to 46.2 million. The highest increases were in Human health and social services (129.8%), Education (100.9%) and Professional, scientific and technical activities (99.4%).

Exporting enterprises are only 22,800, but they have 5 million employees

For the first time, CEMPRE brings information about enterprises that work with foreign trade, with data from the Foreign Trade Secretariat (SECEX). In 2019, exports were carried out by 22,849 enterprises and organizations, or 0.4% of the total number of enterprises in the country, which, however, had 5 million employees (10.8% of the total). In addition, the average monthly salary of exporting enterprises (R$ 4,188.98) is 40.8% above the country's average.

Imports were carried out by 38,672 enterprises (or 0.7% of the total), with 8.3 million employees (17.8% of the total) and monthly average compensation of R$ 4,390.19 (47.5% above the average estimated for the country).

From 2007 to 2019, the participation of exporters and importers in the total number of enterprises remained, respectively, at around 0.4% and 0.7%. However, in the same period, the participation of employees of these enterprises in the formal labor market shrank: in exporters, it went from 13.1% in 2007 to 10.8% in 2019 and in importers, from 18.9% to 17.8 %.

In 2019, most exporters were from Industry (62.5%), followed by Trade (30.1%) and Services (4.8%). About 77.9% of the salaried employees of Brazilian exporting enterprises were from Industry. Agriculture, in turn, accounted for only 1.6% of exporters, but had the second largest participation in salaried persons (23.0%) in the total labor force in the sector. Industry is first, with exporting enterprises employing almost half of all salaried personnel in this sector (48.9%).

Among importing entities, 48.3% were in Trade and 40.0% in Industry. On the other hand, Industry employs 48.3% of salaried personnel, against 15.6% in Trade.

The larger the enterprise, the greater its propensity to export. While only 0.3% of all enterpirses with 1 to 9 employees are exporters, among those with 250 and over, the percentage is 15.3%. A similar trend is seen for importers.