Brazil’s unemployment rate was 5.3% in the rolling quarter ended August 2026, unchanged from the previous quarter and in line with market expectations. This was the lowest rate since December 2025. The number of unemployed people fell 4.9% year over year to 5.8 million.
The number of private-sector employees with a formal contract, excluding domestic workers, reached 39.5 million — the highest level in the historical series — and was largely stable both quarter over quarter and year over year. The composite underutilization rate stood at 13.1%, also showing little variation.
The number of people working fewer hours than they would like declined 6.2% year over year to 4.3 million, while the discouraged population fell 11.9% to 2.4 million. The informality rate was 37.5%, corresponding to 38.8 million workers. Average real monthly earnings remained broadly stable at R$3,777.
