• Highlights

• In 2023, there were 376.7 thousand industrial companies with one or more employed persons in the country. The industrial workforce included 8.5 million people, who received R$446.0 billion in salaries, withdrawals and other compensation. The number of employed persons increased for the fourth consecutive year, but dropped 3.1% (-272.8 thousand people) between 2014 and 2023.
• Of the total number of people employed in the industry, 8.3 million (97.2%) worked in Manufacturing industry and 239.9 thousand (2.8%) in Mining and Quarrying industry. These percentages remained stable from 2014, when 97.4% of the workforce was allocated to the Manufacturing industry and 2.6% to the Mining and Quarrying industry.
• In 2023, the sector with the largest number of employed persons was manufacture of Food products, accounting for 23.6% of the total, and also the one that gained the highest share in the last ten years, with an increase of 4.1 p.p. The activity also accounted for 23.6% of net sales revenue (NRV), being the main segment.
• Industry generated R$6.5 trillion in NSR in 2023, of which R$457.7 billion came from mining and quarrying industry and R$6.0 trillion from manufacturing industry.
• Between 2014 and 2023, there was a 2.4 p.p. decrease in the share corresponding to the Manufacturing industry, which now accounts for 92.8% of the NSR of the Brazilian industry. Among the activities, the highlight was Manufacture of food products (23.6%), increasing 4.0 p.p. in the period. On the other hand, Manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and bodies dropped 1.3 p.p., going from 9.6% in 2014 to 8.3% in 2023.
• In 2023, the average salary paid in industry was 3.1 minimum wages, lower than in 2014 (3.5 minimum wages). The average monthly compensation, measured in minimum wages, fell in 25 of the 29 industrial activities.
• Brazilian industry generated R$2.4 trillion in Value of Manufacturing (VM) in 2023, of which 81.7% came from manufacturing industry. The Southeast Region had a 60.9% share of VM.
• In 2023, 22.0% of VM was concentrated in the eight largest industrial companies. Manufacture of food products was the main activity in 18 of the 27 Federation Units.

 The Annual Survey of Industry – Enterprise (PIA-Enterprise) showed that, in 2023, Brazil had 376.7 thousand industrial companies with one or more employed persons, totaling 8.5 million. The food industry reaffirmed its leading role in the national scenario, contributing with 23.6% to net sales revenue and employing the largest number of workers (2.0 million persons, 23.6% of the total). In the last ten years, industrial workforce decreased by 3.1% (-272.8 thousand people), most strongly affecting the activities of Manufacture of wearing apparel and accessories (-175.0 thousand), Manufacture of non-metallic mineral products (-84.6 thousand) and Manufacture of metal products, except machinery and equipment (-69.2 thousand). From 2019 to 2023, however, the number of employed persons increased by 12.0%. The data from PIA-Enterprise, as well as those from the Annual Survey of Industry – Product (PIA-Product), were released today (25) by the IBGE.

“The Annual Survey of Industry seeks to portray the structural characteristics of the business segment of industrial activity in the country, which is relevant information for the analysis and economic planning of companies in the private sector and at different levels of government,” says Marcelo Miranda, IBGE’s Structural Analysis Manager.

In 2023, industrial companies generated R$6.5 trillion in net sales revenue (NSR), of which R$457.7 billion came from mining and quarrying industry and R$6.0 trillion from manufacturing industry, and paid R$446.0 billion in salaries, withdrawals and other compensation. The generated value of manuafacturing (VM) was R$2.4 trillion, with 81.7% coming from manufacturing industry.

The total gross revenue of companies, originating from sales of industrial goods and services, was R$6.9 trillion in 2023. The amount obtained from the resale of goods and the provision of non-industrial services (trade, services, transportation,construction and agricultural and pastoral activities, for example) reached R$741.9 billion, while other revenues (rental income, interest related to financial investments, active monetary variations, positive results from equity interests, among others) totaled R$711.7 billion.

Between 2014 and 2023, there was stability in the diversification of Brazilian industry activities. There were drops of 0.2 percentage points (p.p.) in the merely industrial component of activities in the revenue generated and of 0.9 p.p. in the resale and provision of non-industrial services. The share related to other revenue sources increased by 1.2 p.p. 

Companies with 500 or more employees accounted for 67.9% of net sales revenue in 2023, a small reduction of 0.1 p.p. in ten years. Companies with 100 to 499 employees accounted for 17.1% of net sales revenue, followed by those with 20 to 99 employees, with 9.0%, and, finally, those with up to 19 employees, which accounted for 6.0%. Over the last ten years, this division has remained stable, with a slight increase in the participation of smaller companies (0.8 p.p.). 

In the ranking of industrial activities' share in net sales revenue, Manufacture of food products (23.6%) was in the lead, followed by Coke, petroleum products and biofuels (10.8%), Manufacture of chemicals (9.4%), Motor vehicles, trailers and bodies (8.3%) and Basic metals (6.2%). Manufacturing of food products stood out, rising 4.0 p.p. in ten years. On the other hand, Motor vehicles, trailers and bodies showed the largest drop in share, going from 9.6% in 2014 (2nd place in the ranking) to 8.3% in 2023 (4th place in the ranking). Although it is not among the main activities in terms of net sales revenue, Oil and natural gas extraction had one of the largest changes, increasing its share by 1.7 p.p.

Number of persons employed in industry in 2023 was the biggest since 2015 

For the fourth consecutive year, the number of persons employed in industry has increased. In 2023, 8.5 million people worked in the industrial sector, with 97.2% (8.3 million) in Manufacturing industry and 2.8% (239.9 thousand) in Mining and quarrying industry. Between 2014 and 2023, however, the population employed in industrial companies fell by 3.1% (-272.8 thousand), mainly due to the reduction in jobs (-285.2 thousand) in Manufacturing industry, where most of the workers in the segment are concentrated. In the same period, Mining and quarrying Industry gained 12.4 thousand people in its workforce.

“There was a recovery in the number of persons employed in industry from 2019 onwards, an increase of 910.9 thousand jobs. This fact can be explained, mainly, by the activity of Manufacture of food products, with an increase in employment by 373.8 thousand persons. Another fact is that of the 29 industrial activities, only Manufacture of coke, petroleum products and biofuels, and Printing and reproduction of recorded media had a reduction in the number of persons in this period,” Marcelo Miranda highlights.

In 2023, the biggest number of employed persons was recorded since 2015, when 8.1 million persons were employed. The activity with the largest number of employed persons was Manufacture of food products, employing 2.0 million, responsible for 23.6% of the total.

Manufacture of wearing apparel and accessories (6.8%) and Manufacture of metal products, except machinery and equipment (5.9%) were the other segments with the greatest significance, although showing declines in their shares (-1.8 p.p. and -0.6 p.p., respectively).

Average salary has fallen in 25 of the 29 industrial activities in the last ten years

Between 2014 and 2023, there was a drop in the average monthly compensation (in minimum wages) in 25 of the 29 industrial activities. Throughout this period, the average salary paid in industry fell from 3.5 minimum wages to 3.1 minimum wages. In mining and quarrying industry, salaries fell from 6.0 minimum wages in 2014 to 5.3 minimum wages in 2023, and in manufacturing industry, the drop was from 3.4 minimum wages in 2014 to 3.0 minimum wages in 2023. Throughout the time series of the survey, the average salary in mining and quarrying industry was higher than that in manufacturing industry, with its value increasing for four consecutive years.  

In 2023, despite having the highest average wages, the activities of Extraction of oil and natural gas and Manufacture of coke, petroleum products and biofuels also recorded the biggest drops against figures in 2014: the former went from 24.2 minimum wages to 17.9 minimum wages, while the latter went from 10.0 minimum wages to 7.7 minimum wages in the period. The lowest wages were observed in the segments of Manufacture of wearing apparel and accessories (1.6 minimum wages) and Preparation of leather and manufacture of leather goods, travel articles and footwear (1.7 minimum wages). Most sectors had negative wage changes in the last ten years and, of the few that varied positively, Manufacture of wood products (0. minimum wages) was the one that had the biggest increase in terms of minimum wages.

In 2023, the Southeast had a 60.9% share in value of manufacturing

In 2023, 22.0% of the value of manufacturing was concentrated in the eight largest industrial companies. The main activity in VM was Manufacture of food products (16.8%), the leader in 18 of the 27 Federation Units (UFs). Next came Extraction of oil and natural gas (11.5%), Manufacture of coke, petroleum products and biofuels (11.2%), Manufacture of chemicals (6.7%) and Manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and bodies (5.7%).

From 2014 to 2023, there was a lower representation of Manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and bodies in VM, falling from the third to the fifth position in the ranking, with a change of 7.5% to 5.7% in the share. On the other hand, the activity that advanced the most in the period was Extraction of oil and natural gas, which increased its share by 5.5 p.p., concentrating 11.5% of VM in 2023, moving from the fifth to the second place in the ranking.      

In 2023, the Southeast Region accounted for 60.9% of the industry's VM, followed by the South (18.7%), Northeast (8.2%), North (6.2%) and Central-West (6.1%). Between 2014 and 2023, only the Southeast and Central-West increased their regional concentration of production, with increases of 2.2 p.p. and 0.7 p.p., respectively, while there was a reduction in the participation of the Northeast (1.5 p.p.), South (1.2 p.p.) and North (0.1 p.p.).  

The Southeast's share in the national industry fluctuated from 2014 to 2023, reaching the lowest level in the survey's time series in 2020, when it reached 56.2% of the VM. The recovery came in 2021 (58.8%), 2022 (61.3%) and 2023 (60.9%), largely influenced by the increase in São Paulo's share, which went from 30.4% in 2020 to 34.4% in 2023, leading the national ranking of contribution to VM. Next came Rio de Janeiro (13.0%) and Minas Gerais (11.4%), which together accounted for 58.8% of the VM of Brazilian industry.

In the Southeast, well-established production chains predominate, such as the oil and natural gas axis, with greater prominence in Rio de Janeiro (47.1%) and Espírito Santo (26.9%); and the steel and basic metals axis, with emphasis on Minas Gerais (14.8%), Espírito Santo (11.1%) and Rio de Janeiro (4.1%). Car industry has lost ground in ten years and, in 2023, it was not among the four main sectors of industry in Minas Gerais and São Paulo (which was the case in 2014).

Paraná (36.9%) led the VM ranking in the South in 2023, followed by Rio Grande do Sul (34.2%) and Santa Catarina (28.9%). Food industry was the main activity in all states in the Major Region. The machinery and equipment segments (mainly aimed at agriculture) and petroleum products, in the latter case with Paraná and Rio Grande do Sul standing out, were also protagonists in the region.

The Northeast led the VM participation in Bahia (33.4%). Pernambuco (22.7%), Ceará (17.1%), Rio Grande do Norte (7.7%), Maranhão (6.3%), Alagoas (4.5%), Paraíba (3.6%), Sergipe (2.8%) and Piauí (2.1%) followed. Despite its leadership, Bahia lost its participation in the time series of the survey, mainly after the pandemic. In 2023, the state fell 7.8 p.p. from 2014. Pernambuco's share has grown, after advancing 5.5 p.p. in the same period. While in Pernambuco the oil industry gained relevance, in Bahia the opposite occurred, with the Manufacture of coke, petroleum products and biofuels leaving the list of the four biggest sectors in the state.

In the North Region, Amazonas (49.0%) and Pará (42.8%) were responsible for 91.8% of the VM. Despite regaining the regional leadership that it had lost to Pará, Amazonas saw a 3.0 p.p. drop from 2014 to 2023. It is worth noting the recent decrease in Pará's share, especially in the last two years, showing a 20.5 p.p. drop compared to 2021. This is partly due to the reduction in international iron ore prices. The productive diversity of the North lies in the variety of activities in its states, with part of the production recorded in the local vocation for the use of natural resources, as is the case of mining in Pará, the timber industry in Amapá and the food industry in Rondônia, Acre, Roraima and Tocantins. In Amazonas, the computer and electronics product sectors predominated.  

In the Central-West, Goiás (44.8%) and the Federal District (3.0%) have lost share in the last ten years (2.5 p.p. and 2.2 p.p., respectively). On the contrary, Mato Grosso (26.8%) and Mato Grosso do Sul (25.4%) increased their contributions to VM with gains of 2.0 p.p. and 2.8 p.p., respectively. As usual, the Central-West stood out for the strong export potential of the agribusiness, represented by the food and biofuel industries, the two main sectors in Goiás, Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul. The Federal District, in turn, concentrated just over a quarter of production in the Manufacture of non-metallic mineral products, linked to the construction industry.     

Regarding the participation of industrial activities in the VM, the loss of share of Manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and bodies is noteworthy, dropping from the third to the fifth position in the ranking, with a change of 7.5% to 5.7%. On the other hand, the activity that advanced the most in the period was the Extraction of oil and natural gas, increasing its share by 5.5 p.p., concentrating 11.5% of the VM in 2023, dropping from the fifth to the second position in the ranking.  

More about the survey

The Annual Survey of Industry - Enterprise (PIA-Enterprise) aims to identify the basic structural characteristics of the business segment of industrial activity in the country and its transformations over time, including, among other aspects, data on employed personnel, salaries, costs and expenses, revenues, production value and value of manufacturing. Its results are a reference for the analysis of the activities that make up this segment and support the macroeconomic estimates of the System of National Accounts - SNA.

There is data by company and by Major Regions and Federation Units, as well as results for companies with 30 or more employed persons or that earned gross revenue from sales of industrial products and services exceeding R$23.1 million in the year prior to the survey reference year.