The unemployment rate in Brazil stood at 5.4% in the second quarter, after falling seven tenths compared to the first three months of the year, thus marking the same minimum of 2026 recorded in the period from November 2025 to January of this year.
According to the figures released this Thursday by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), "5.9 million people sought work unsuccessfully during the quarter ending in the middle of the year, 718,000 fewer than between January and March."
The employed population rose to "103.1 million" workers, representing a quarterly increase of "1.1% (1.081 million)" and a year-on-year increase of "0.7% compared to the data from 2025 (742,000)." Thus, the employment rate reached "58.8%", five tenths above the level recorded three months earlier.
In the private sector, "39.4 million workers with contracts remained unchanged," while the number of salaried workers without contracts rose to "13.6 million," a "2.2%" increase. Additionally, "26.1 million self-employed and 13 million public employees were counted, with no variation and an increase of 2.6%, respectively."