Photo: screengrab from the official website of Brasil 247

By Brasil 247 — Brazil created 1,501,930 formal jobs between January and August 2025, according to data released Monday (September 29) by the Labor Ministry's New Caged system. The positive balance was seen across all major sectors of the economy, lifting the total number of formal employment ties to 48.69 million — the highest on record.

Since President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva took office in January 2023, the country has added 4.63 million formal jobs, underscoring a period of recovery and expansion in the labor market.

Services and industry lead the way

Among the five main economic groups, Services generated the largest share of new positions, with 773,000 jobs, followed by Industry, which created 273,000 jobs and stood out for higher-skilled employment. Construction (+194,500), Commerce (+153,400) and Agriculture (+107,200) also posted gains.

Within industry, food manufacturing was the main driver, accounting for 51,000 jobs during the period.

Regional performance

In absolute terms, São Paulo led the rankings with 436,700 jobs, followed by Minas Gerais (+152,900) and Paraná (+108,700). Proportionally, the fastest growth was recorded in Amapá (+6.86%), Mato Grosso (+5.78%) and Piauí (+5.22%).

In August alone, Brazil generated 147,358 formal jobs, the result of 2,239,895 hires and 2,092,537 layoffs. The balance was positive in 25 of the 27 states, led by São Paulo (+45,450), Rio de Janeiro (+16,128) and Pernambuco (+12,692).

Once again, Services drove growth with 81,002 jobs, largely in Education (+23,785), especially early childhood and elementary education (+9,924). Commerce (+32,612), Industry (+19,098) and Construction (+17,328) also expanded, while Agriculture saw a slight decline (-2,665).

Hiring profile

Women accounted for most of the hires in August, with 77,560 positions, compared with 69,798 for men. Young workers aged 18 to 24 led job creation with 94,525 positions, followed by teenagers under 17 (+33,710). The majority of new hires had completed high school (96,442).

Wages on the rise

The average hiring salary in August stood at R$ 2,295.01 ($417.45), a 0.56% increase from July (R$ 2,282.31). Wage growth is keeping pace with job expansion, reflecting a gradual improvement in workers' purchasing power.

(Reported by Brasil 247 on September 29, 2025)