Brazil Unemployment Falls to 5.4% in Q2, Lowest Since 2012

The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) reported that the unemployment rate for the second quarter stood at 5.4%, the lowest level recorded since the PNAD series began in 2012. This marks a decline from the first‑quarter rate of 6.1% and from 5.8% in the same period of 2025. Employment rose to 103.1 million people, while the number of unemployed fell to 5.9 million—a 10% reduction, roughly 718 thousand fewer job seekers. The biggest job gains were in transport, storage and postal services (+3.9%) and in public administration, education, health and social services (+2.6%). Informality remained at 37.4% of the employed, and the average monthly earnings reached R$ 3,738, the highest ever recorded for a second‑quarter period. The previous low was 5.1% in Q4 2025, and the peak unemployment during the pandemic reached 14.9% in late 2020 and early 2021.