Wages for Formal Sector Jobs Created in Brazil This Year Do Not Exceed Two Minimum Wages

04/30/2018 - 14h44

The wages for formal sector jobs created in Brazil this year were no higher than two minimum wages - or R$ 1,908 (US$ 551).

According to data provided to Folha by Caged (General Register of Employed and Unemployed Persons), new hires only exceeded layoffs among those in lower-income positions.

In all job stratums above the monthly wage mark of R$ 1,908, the number of positions decreased. The situation is particularly delicate in the North and Northeast of Brazil, where the number of job openings during the period in question was only positive among minimum wage positions - or R$ 954 (US$ 275).

The Ministry of Labor claims that the numbers reflect a process of economic recovery and that the trend in positive job openings will eventually extend to high-paying positions.

In the first quarter of 2017, positive job openings were concentrated among positions paying up to 1.5 minimum wages.

The worst result ever recorded for a first quarter was registered back in 2016 when job openings were only positive among positions that paid minimum wage. Years earlier, however, Brazil managed to create higher-paying positions: at the beginning of 2008, jobs that paid up to 4 minimum wages were created, and so were positions whose pay ranged from seven to ten minimum wages.

Vivian Almeida, an economist and professor at Ibmec, pointed out that it usually takes a little longer for unemployment statistics to begin to improve. "The labor market tends to improve during a later cycle. For example, first there's an increase in sales, then there's an increase in terms of employment."

Even though the government claimed in 2017 that the labor reform would lead to 2 million new job openings over the course of two years, the Ministry of Labor has not yet released Caged's predictions for 2018. The new labor laws (CLT) were signed into law at the end of last year, although several of its aspects have yet to be regulated.

Translated by THOMAS MATHEWSON

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