The income gap between white and black workers increased in 2019, reaching its highest level since 2016, according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics.
According to research released by the institute on Wednesday (6), the average monthly income of blacks was equivalent to 55.8% of that of whites.
The average income of white workers was R $ 2,999 in 2019. Blacks had an average income of R $ 1,673. It was the second biggest difference in the survey's historical series, which started in 2012, second only to 2016.
In 2019, workers who declared themselves to be pardo (brown) had an average income of R $ 1,719 per month. The value is equivalent to 57.3% of the average income of whites. In this case, however, the difference has remained practically stable in recent years, after a fall in 2016.
In 2019, preto (black) workers represented 10.4% of the employed population in the country. The share has been growing over the past few years since the 8.1% recorded in 2012. Whites are 44.8% of the employed population, which totaled 92 million people in 2019.
Translated by Kiratiana Freelon