Brazil’s Jobless Rate Hits 5.6% Record as Formal Hiring Slows in August

Overview

• IBGE reported unemployment at 5.6% in the quarter through August, matching the series low, with 6.1 million unemployed and a record 102.4 million people working.
• Caged data showed a net 147,358 formal jobs created in August, the weakest August since 2020 and below market forecasts that centered between roughly 170,000 and 184,000.
• Four major sectors added jobs—services (+81,002), commerce (+32,612), industry (+19,098) and construction (+17,328)—while agriculture shed 2,665 positions.
• States posted broad gains, led by São Paulo (+45,450), Rio de Janeiro (+16,128) and Pernambuco (+12,692), as the number of private‑sector employees with signed contracts reached a record 39.1 million.
• The labor minister called the slowdown an alert for the Central Bank and blamed high rates, while analysts described a still‑tight market that could cool under restrictive policy; the average admission wage rose to R$ 2,295.01, with nearly a quarter of August hires in non‑typical contracts such as part‑time and apprenticeships.