Unemployment reaches 7% and reaches the lowest percentage for the 1st quarter since 2012

The unemployment rate in Brazil reached 7% in the quarter ending in March 2025, according to data from the Continuous National Household Sample Survey (Pnad Contínua) released this Wednesday 30th by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE).

The IBGE data is encouraging when compared with the long-term history, having reached the lowest percentage for the period since 2012, the beginning of the institute's historical series. In comparison with last year there is also an improvement: the index, in that period, was 7.9%.

The result released this Wednesday, however, indicates a growth trend, with an increase of 0.8% compared to the previous quarter, when it was 6.2%. The index for the quarter ending in February, in turn, is 6.8%, also lower than the current volume.

Usual growth in the period

According to the IBGE, the growth is not alarming, since the beginning of the year is usually a more difficult time for the job market, at least in terms of the number of jobs. This is because the first quarter is usually a period in which temporary workers hired at the end of the previous year – due to Christmas, for example – are usually laid off.

In the first quarter of this year, the total number of unemployed people in Brazil reached 7.7 million. For comparison purposes, the increase is 13.1% compared to the fourth quarter of last year. Now, when comparing the current number with that recorded in the first quarter of last year, the logic is reversed: in the first three months of 2024, the total number of unemployed people was 10.5% higher than that recorded today.

According to the IBGE, the increase in unemployment in the quarterly comparison is due to the fact that there are more people looking for work. To calculate unemployment, the agency considers the total number of people over the age of 14 who are looking for work but are unable to find it.

“The good performance of the labor market in recent quarters has not been compromised by the seasonal growth in unemployment. Even with quarterly growth, the unemployment rate in the first quarter of 2025 is lower than all those recorded in the same period in previous years,” says Adriana Beringuy, coordinator of household surveys at IBGE.

Performance

Another piece of data that indicates a booming job market is income: those who are currently employed are earning (on average) more than before, according to the IBGE. The usual real income from all jobs was R$3,410, according to the institute. This amount sets a new record in the historical series. In the quarterly comparison, the increase in average income was 1.2%. In the annual comparison, the increase was 4%.

Thus, the mass of real income usually received by employed people, taking into account all jobs, totaled 345.048 billion reais in the first quarter of the year. The number remained stable compared to the previous quarter.