The unemployment rate in Brazil in the second quarter of 2025 reached 5.8%, the lowest figure in the series that started in 2012. Against the first quarter of 2025, this rate fell in 18 of the 27 states and remained stable in the other nine. Pernambuco (10.4%), Bahia (9.1%), and the Federal District (8.7%) showed the highest rates, while the lowest were found in Santa Catarina (2.2%), Rondônia (2.3%), and Mato Grosso (2.8%). These data come from the Quarterly Continuous National Household Sample Survey (Continuous PNAD) released today (15) by the IBGE.

The data include the reweighting of the Continuous PNAD time series, released on July 31st. The reweighting of the survey in 2025 considers the population totals from the Population Projections, released in 2024, which incorporate the results of the latest Population Census, carried out in 2022. For more details, see Technical Note 02/2025.

All job search time ranges recorded drops in the number of unemployed persons

In the second quarter of 2025, the number of unemployed persons in the four job search time ranges analyzed by the Continuous PNAD decreased from that in the same quarter of 2024. Furthermore, two of the four job search time ranges recorded their lowest figures for a second quarter in the Continuous PNAD time series, which began in 2012. The exceptions were the initial period, of less than one month, and that of of two years and over, both recording the lowest results in 2014. In this quarter, 1.3 million persons looked for work for two years or more. This indicator fell 23.6% from the second quarter of 2024.

According to analyst William Kratochwill, the survey data show a labor market that is "still buoyant and resilient, with a decline in the country's unemployment rate. This performance is reflected in the reduction of the number of persons searching for work, which means there are more opportunities attracting workers, even those who had more difficulty finding work."

Unemployment rate of women is 6.9%; of men, 4.8%

In Q2 2025, while the unemployment rate for the working-age population reached 5.8%, this indicator was 4.8% for men and 6.9% for women. By color or race, this rate was below the national average for white persons (4.8%) and above it for black (7.0%) and brown persons (6.4%).

The unemployment rate for persons with incomplete high school education (9.4%) was higher than for those with other levels of education analyzed. For persons with incomplete higher education, the rate was 5.9%, almost twice as that for those with full higher education (3.2%).

Maranhão (56,2%) tem maior taxa de informalidade e Santa Catarina (24,7%), a menor

The informality rate for Brazil was 37.8% for the working population. The highest rates were those of Maranhão (56.2%), Pará (55.9%), and Bahia (52.3%), and the lowest, of Santa Catarina (24.7%), Federal District (28.4%), and São Paulo (29.2%).

For the IBGE analyst, these data resut from a buoyant labor market. "The drop in the informality rate reflects this good performance. A strong labor market provides more employment for workers, both formal and informal. The figures show an increase by 1.8 million employed persons, 17.6% of whom are informal (318,000), which allows for a reduction in the rate," explained Kratochwill.

The informality rate of the employed population is calculated considering workers in the private sector and domestic workers without a formal employment contract, in addition to employers and self-employed persons without a CNPJ registry, and auxiliary family workers.

Maranhão has the smallest proportion of workers with a formal contract (53.1%) and Santa Catarina leads the ranking (87.4%)

In Q2 2025, 74.2% of the private sector workers in the country had formal employment contracts. The highest percentages of formal work were found in Santa Catarina (87.4%), São Paulo (82.9%), and Rio Grande do Sul (81.2%), and the lowest in Maranhão (53.1%), Piauí (54.5%), and Paraíba (54.6%).

The percentage of the country's sel-employed employed population reached 25.2%. The highest percentages were those of Rondônia (35.3%), Maranhão (31.8%), and Amazonas (30.4%), and the lowest, those of the Federal District (18.6%), Tocantins (20.4%), and Mato Grosso do Sul (21.4%).

Earnings increase in the Southeast and remain stable in the other Major Regions

The average real earnings from all jobs, usually earned, was estimated at R$3,477. There was an increase in both comparisons: against the immediately previous quarter (R$3,440) and the same quarter of 2024 (R$3,367).

In the quarterly comparison, the Southeast region (R$ 3,914) was the only one with a statistically significant increase in earnings (1.8%), while the others remained stable. In relation to Q2 2024, income growth was observed in the Southeast region (2.8%) and in the South (5.4%), which reached R$ 3,880, with statistical stability in the others.

The usual real earnings from all jobs (R$351.2 billion) grew in both comparisons: 2.9% quarter-over-quarter and 5.9% year-over-year. The Southeast region had the largest real income over the time series (R$177.8 billion). Agsinst Q1 2025, income grew in four Major Regions, with only the South (R$63.0 billion) remaining stable.

More about the survey

Continuous PNAD is the main survey on workforce in Brazil. Its sample includes 211 thousand households, spread over 3.500 municipalities in the 27 Federation Units, which are visited every quarter. Nearly two thousand interviewers work in the survey, integrated with more than 500 IBGE branches in the entire country.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the IBGE implemented data collection by telephone on March 17, 2020. In July 2021, the data collection became face-to-face once again.

The identity of the interviewers can be confirmed at the Answering the IBGE website or through the Call Center (0800 7218181), and their ID numbers can be requested by the informants.

See PNAD data on Sidra. The next release of the Monthly Continuous PNAD, related to Q3 2025, will be on November 14.