Continuous PNAD
Unemployment rate in the quarter ended in January is 5.4%, with record earnings
March 05, 2026 09h00 AM | Last Updated: March 08, 2026 10h26 PM
The unemployment rate in Brazil reached 5.4% in the quarter from November 2025 to January 2026, having repeated the same level as from August to October 2025, the lowest in the comparable series that started in 2012. Against the moving quarter from November 2024 to January 2025 (6.5%), there was a decrease of 1.1 percentage points (p.p.). Data can be found in the Monthly Continuous PNAD, released today (05) by the IBGE.
The usual real earnings from all activities reached R$ 3,652, the peak of the series, with an increase of 2.8% in the quarter and 5.4% over the year. The usual real wage bill (R$ 370.3 billion), which also hit a record, increased 2.9% in the quarter (R$ 10.5 billion) and 7.3% (R$ 25.1 billion) over the year.
About 5.9 million persons were unemployed in the quarter ending January 2026, the lowest number of unemployed persons in the series, having remained stable from the previous quarter and recording a drop of 17.1% in the annual comparison, which represents a drop of 1.2 million unemployed persons from one year to ne next.
The employed population reached 102.7 million, also the biggest number in the comparable series, having remained stable in the quarter and recorded an increase of 1.7% (1.7 million persons) over the year. The employment-population ratio in the working age population was 58.7%, with stability in the quarter (58.8%) and an increase of 0.5 p.p. in the year (58.2%).
According to the IBGE's household surveys coordinator, Adriana Beriguy, “the results of the quarter ending January 2026 basically indicate stability of indicators and employment. Although the start of January tends to reduce the number of workers, often due to the layoff of workers, the favorable effects of November and December reduced the impact of this seasonal movement."
The rate of workforce underutilization (percentage of unemployed persons, time-related underemployed persons and those in the potential workforce in relation to extended workforce) stood at 13.8%, a result considered stable in the quarterly comparison and that represents a decrease of 1.8 p.p. in the annual comparison (15.5%). Also, the discouraged population (2.7 million) was stable in the quarter and fell by 15.2% (476 thousand persons) in the year. The percentage of discouraged persons was 2.4% with stability in the quarter and a decrease of 0.4 p.p. over the year (2.8%).
Informality rate in the quarter fell to 37.5%, the lowest figure since 2020
The informality rate (proportion of informal workers in the employed population) was 37.5%, the lowest since July 2020, being equivalent to 38.5 million informal workers. In the previous moving quarter, the percentage was 37.8% and, in the same quarter of 2024, 38.4%.
“The informality rate has decreased since 2022, with acceleration of this trajectory from 2023 on. Specifically in the current quarter, the decline of this rate was related to the trend to decrease of employment without a forma contract in the private sector and to the expansion of CNPJ registration of self-employed workers,” says the coordinator of the survey.
The number of workers with a formal contract in the private sector (except domestic workers) was 39.4 million. There was stability in the quarter and an increase of 2.1% (800 thousand persons) in the year. On the other hand, the total number of workers without a formal contract in the private sector (13.4 million) was stable in the quarter and in the year.
The number of self-employed workers (26.2 million) as stable in the quarter and increased 3.7% in the year (927 thousand person). The number of domestic workers (5.5 million) was stable in the quarter and fell by 4.5% in the year (257 thousand persons).
Group of Public administration drives increase of employment in the annual comparison
By groups of activity, against the previous quarter, there was an increase in the total numeber of employed persons and groups of Information, Communication and Administrative, Professional, Real Estate and Financial Activities (2.8%, or 365 thousand persons) and Other services (3.5%, or 185 thousand persons). General industry dropped 2.3% (305 thousand persons).
In the annual comparison, the following groups recorded increases: Information Communication and Administrative, Professional, Real Estate and Financial Activities (4.4%, or 561 thousand persons) and Public administration, defense, social security, education, human health and social services (6.2%, or 1.1 million persons). Domestic services decreased by 4.2%, or 243 thousand persons.
More about Continuous PNAD
The Continuous PNAD is the main survey on workforce in Brazil. At each quarter, two thousand interviewers in more than 500 branches of the IBGE's data collection network visit a sample of 211 thousand households, covering nearly 3,500 municipalities.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the IBGE implemented data collection by telephone on March 17, 2020. In July 2021, face-to-face data collection was resumed. The id of the interviewers can be confirmed on the Answering the IBGE website or through the Call Center (0800 7218181) by checking their ID numbers, which can be requested by the informants.
See PNAD data on Sidra. The next release of the Quarterly PNAD, for the quarter ended February, will be on March 27.
