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By Brasil 247 - The unemployment rate in Brazil stood at 5.4% in the moving quarter ending in January 2026, maintaining the lowest level in the historical series that began in 2012. The result represents stability in relation to the previous quarter and a drop of 1.1 percentage points compared to the same period last year. The information was released on March 5 ( by the National Household Sample Survey (PNAD) Continuous Monthly, from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE).

According to the survey, the country had approximately 5.9 million unemployed people during the analyzed period—the lowest number recorded since the beginning of the comparable series. The number remained stable compared to the previous quarter, but showed a 17.1% reduction compared to the same quarter of the previous year, which corresponds to approximately 1.2 million fewer people in unemployment.

At the same time, the average real income reached R$ 3,652, establishing the highest value ever recorded in the survey's historical series. The indicator advanced 2.8% compared to the previous quarter and showed growth of 5.4% in the annual comparison.

Another record was registered in the total real income mass — the sum of all labor income paid in the country — which reached R$ 370.3 billion. The amount increased by 2.9% compared to the previous quarter, equivalent to an additional R$ 10.5 billion, and grew by 7.3% compared to the same period in 2025, with an increase of R$ 25.1 billion.

The employed population reached 102.7 million people, also the highest number in the historical series. The total remained stable in the quarter, but increased by 1.7% compared to the same period of the previous year, which represents about 1.7 million more workers.

The employment rate — the proportion of employed people among those of working age — stood at 58.7%. This indicator remained stable compared to the previous quarter, when it was at 58.8%, and registered a 0.5 percentage point increase year-on-year.

According to Adriana Beriguy, coordinator of household surveys at IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics), the data indicate a scenario of stability in the labor market, even with the typical seasonal effects of the beginning of the year.

"The results for the quarter ending in January 2026 point primarily to the stability of employment indicators. Although the start of January tends to reduce the number of workers, often due to the dismissal of temporary employees, the favorable effects of November and December reduced the impact of this seasonal movement," he explained.

The labor force underutilization rate — which includes unemployed, underemployed, or available-to-work individuals — stood at 13.8%. The index remained stable compared to the previous quarter, but showed a decrease of 1.8 percentage points compared to the same period last year.

Meanwhile, the number of discouraged workers, those who have given up looking for work, totaled 2.7 million in the country. This figure remained stable during the quarter and decreased by 15.2% year-on-year, equivalent to 476,000 fewer people in this situation.

Another indicator that showed improvement was the informality rate, which reached 37.5% of the employed population — the lowest level since July 2020. This corresponds to approximately 38.5 million informal workers. In the previous quarter, the rate was 37.8%, while in the same period of 2024 it had been 38.4%.

Adriana Beriguy highlighted that informality has been showing a downward trend in recent years.

"The informality rate has been falling since 2022, with this trajectory accelerating from 2023 onwards. Specifically in the current quarter, the decrease in the rate was associated with the downward trend in informal employment in the private sector and the expansion of CNPJ registration coverage for self-employed workers," he stated.

The number of workers with formal employment contracts in the private sector — excluding domestic workers — totaled 39.4 million. This figure remained stable compared to the previous quarter and grew by 2.1% compared to the same period of the previous year, representing an increase of approximately 800,000 workers.

Among informal workers in the private sector, the total was 13.4 million, remaining stable both quarterly and year-on-year. Self-employed workers totaled 26.2 million, remaining stable in the quarter and registering a 3.7% increase compared to the previous year.

In the case of domestic work, the number of people employed was 5.5 million, also stable in the quarter, but with a 4.5% reduction compared to the previous year.

Analysis by sector shows that, compared to the previous quarter, there was an increase in the number of employed people in the Information, Communication and Financial, Real Estate, Professional and Administrative Activities segments, with growth of 2.8%, and in Other services, which advanced 3.5%.

In contrast, the overall industry sector showed a 2.3% decrease in the number of workers employed.

In the year-on-year comparison, the largest advances occurred in the Information, Communication and Financial, Real Estate, Professional and Administrative Activities sectors, with growth of 4.4%, and in Public administration, defense, social security, education, human health and social services, which registered an increase of 6.2%.

On the other hand, the domestic services sector saw a 4.2% decrease in the number of workers compared to the same period last year.

(Reported by Brasil 247 on March 5, 2026 )