Brazil's unemployment falls to 5.3% as ILO reports regional labor gains

A new International Labour Organization (ILO) report released in Geneva shows that unemployment across Latin America and the Caribbean fell to 5.3% in 2025, the lowest level in a decade. Employment rose slightly to 59.9% and the share of informal work dropped to 47.4% among the 15 countries surveyed. The report notes persistent gaps: youth (15‑24) unemployment remains high at 11.3%, women face a higher rate (6.3%) than men (4.4%).

In Brazil, the latest labour market data for the second quarter of 2026 record an unemployment rate of 5.4%, the lowest since the series began in 2012. The country now has 103.1 million people employed, an increase of over one million from the previous quarter, and average real wages reached R$ 3,738, a 2.8% rise year‑on‑year. Compared with 2019, when unemployment was around 12%, the figures illustrate a substantial improvement in job creation and earnings, though challenges for young workers and women persist.