• Highlights

• In 2024, of the 101.3 million employed people in Brazil, 8.9% (9.1 million people) were members of unions, interrupting the sequence of reductions both in contingent (since 2014) and percentage (since 2016).
• Compared to the previous year, there was an increase of 9.8%, or 812 thousand people in the contingent of union members. In 2023, there were 8.3 million people or 8.4% of those employed, the lowest unionization rate in the entire time series.
• In relation to 2012, all groups of activities showed a drop in union membership. In terms of rates, the biggest drop was in the group of Transportation, storage and mailing, which in 12 years recorded a reduction of 12.4 p.p. (from 20.7% in 2012 to 8.3% in 2024), followed by General industry, which went from 21.3% to 11.4%, a loss of 9.9 p.p.
• Among the 29.8 million employers and self-employed workers in Brazil, 10.0 million (or 33.6%) were in enterprises registered in the National Register of Legal Entities (CNPJ), an increase of 3.5 percentage points compared to 2023 when there were 9.7 million (or 33.0%).
• In 2024, CNPJ coverage among self-employed workers was 25.7%. Among employers, it was 80.0%.
• In 2024, of the 29.8 million people employed as employers or self-employed workers, only 4.3% were members of a work or production cooperative, the lowest percentage in the time series. With 8.2% in 2024, the South Region recorded the highest values among all the Major Regions, throughout the period.

In 2024, the unionization rate showed the first positive result in the time series, rising from 8.4% (8.3 million people) to 8.9% (9.1 million people). It is a reduction of 7.2 percentage points (p.p.) in relation to 2012, the beginning of the time series, when the rate was 16.1%. This information was released today (19) and is part of the Additional characteristics of the labor market module of the Continuous National Household Sample Survey (Pnad).

Among the groups of activities, all showed an increase in the unionization rates, with emphasis on Public administration, defense and social security, education, human health and social services (15.5%) and General industry (11.4%), both with an increase of 1.1 p.p. However, Agriculture, livestock, forestry, fishing and aquaculture, which represents the second largest proportion of union members (14.8%), had a loss of 0.2 p.p.

The group of Information, communication and financial, real estate, professional and administrative activities showed an increase of 0.8 p.p., reaching a unionization rate of 9.6%. On the other hand, Trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles, which is responsible for almost a fifth of the total employed population, recorded a unionization rate of 5.6%, lower than the average observed for the total employed population (8.9%), after an increase of 0.5 p.p. in relation to 2023.

In relation to 2012, all groups of activities showed a drop in union membership. In terms of rates, the biggest drop was in the group of Transportation, storage and mailing, which in 12 years recorded a reduction of 12.4 p.p. (from 20.7% in 2012 to 8.3% in 2024), followed by General industry, which went from 21.3% to 11.4%, a loss of 9.9 p.p.

“The increase in the unionization rate in Public Administration and Industry is important, because there was also an increase in the number of workers. It is possible that there is a recovery movement, since historically these groups are more organized in terms of unionism,” explains the survey´s analyst, William Kratochwill. “In Agriculture, on the contrary, there has been a sharp drop in the number of employed people. The 4.8% reduction in the unionization rate in this sector may be more associated with the reduction of this contingent than with a reduction in unionization among workers.”

Unionization of formal employees and in the public sector increases

In the analysis by employment type and job category, those employed in the public sector (18.9%) had the highest unionization rate, followed by workers with a formal contract in the private sector (11.2%) and auxiliary family workers (9.9%). The researchers relate the high percentage of family workers to the concentration of this category in the agricultural sector.

“With more people being hired, now perhaps they are identifying the need to organize themselves a little more. It may be that the unions have sought to increase their reach, regain their credibility and service provision. The market is heating up," analyzes Kratochwill.

In turn, the lowest union coverage was among those employed in the private sector without a formal contract (3.8%) and domestic workers (2.6%). “Those without a formal contract are on the margins of the market and domestic workers are a less organized class, also associated with a high rate of informality,” comments Kratochwill.

Compared to the previous year, the unionization rate increased in two groups that have, throughout the time series, higher percentages of unionized workers: those employed in the private sector with a formal contract, whose rate increased from 10.1% to 11.2%, and those employed in the public sector (including statutory servants and the military), from 18.3% to 18.9%. These groups were the ones that recorded the main losses in recent years, especially since 2017. For researchers, this indicates that, regardless of the activity sector (public or private), the decline in unionization affects all segments of employment.

Unionization increases at all schooling levels

The survey also investigates the schooling level of unionized workers. Of the 9.1 million union members, 37.5%, or 3.4 million, had completed secondary school and 37.2% (3.4 million) had completed higher education. The highest unionization rate was among those employed with higher education (14.2%) and the lowest one, among those with complete primary and incomplete secondary education (5.7%).

All schooling levels increased compared with 2023. The biggest increases were recorded among workers who had completed higher education (from 13.5% to 14.2%) and those with complete secondary school and incomplete higher education (from 7.1% to 7.7). When compared to the beginning of the time series, in 2012 (28.3%), the unionization rate in the first group fell 14.1 percentage points, the biggest decline among the groups analyzed.

South and Southeast drive the increase in the national rate

The increase in the percentage of workers associated with a union in Brazil was driven by the increase in the percentage in the South (9.8%) and Southeast (9.2%) regions, which showed growth of 0.5 p.p. and of 1.3 p.p., respectively. The South, North and Central-West regions stand out in the survey for having the percentage of workers associated with a union reduced by more than half from 2012 to 2024 (20.3% to 9.8%; 14.8% to 7.0%; and 14.0% to 6.9%, respectively).

The Northeast Region stands out for being the only one in which the percentage of women unionized (10.0%) was higher than that of men (8.9%). In Brazil, 9.1% of men were unionized, 0.6 p.p. more than in 2023, when this percentage was 8.5%. Among women, it went from 8.2% to 8.7% in the same period. The difference in the percentage of union members between men and women, which in 2012 was 2.0 p.p., increased to 0.4 p.p. in 2024.

Around a third of employers and self-employed workers have a CNPJ

In 2024, the number of workers made up of employers and self-employed workers increased by 1.8% compared to the previous year, adding up to 29.8 million workers. Of these, 10 million (33.6%) were in enterprises registered with the CNPJ, a contingent 3.5% greater than in 2023 (33.0%), and 77.4% greater than in 2012 (24.0%), representing the second largest contingent and second highest percentage in the time series.

The proportion of self-employed workers registered with the CNPJ was 25.7%. Among employers, 80.0% were registered. In relation to 2023, there was a drop for employers (0.9 p.p.) and an increase for self-employed workers (0.8 p.p.) It is noteworthy that, in 2024, the total number of self-employed workers in Brazil added up to 25.5 million, six times more than the total number of employers (4.3 million).

“The CNPJ coverage rate is significantly higher among those who work as employers, because, upon reaching the employer level, the person starts to hire, which increases the need to comply with labor market formalities, such as signing the contract, issuing an invoice and regularizing the company. This process leads to greater formalization and registration. On the other hand, self-employed workers have also been increasing their formalization, although at a slower pace. This trend is related to the need to provide services in an increasingly technological Brazilian scenario, with a predominance of electronic payments and less use of physical money. To access banking services and digital payment methods, some degree of formalization is required,” says Kratochwill.

CNPJ coverage between these categories increases as the schooling level advances. Among self-employed workers, the rate was 11.0% for those who had no education or completed primary school and reached nearly half (48.4%) for those who had completed higher education. For employers, the CNPJ coverage rate was 51.9% for those with no education or with incomplete primary education and 90.2% for those with complete higher education.

“Almost half of self-employed workers with higher education have a registered company. In contrast, only around 11% of those without formal education have a CNPJ. Among employers, the same correlation is observed: the higher the schooling level, the greater the perception of the importance of formalization, whether due to understanding the consequences of not being legalized or the complexity of the services provided,” says Kratochwill.

There are also differences when the numbers are analyzed by sex. Nearly 84.4% of female employers were registered with the CNPJ, while this proportion was 78.1% among men. The percentage, however, was much lower among self-employed workers: 27.8% for women and 24.6% for men.

Services and Trade have greater coverage in the CNPJ

Employers and self-employed workers were mainly concentrated on Trade and Services activities, with shares of 21.5% and 44.5%, respectively. These two activities also had the highest CNPJ coverage rates, 47.2% and 38.2%, respectively. Industry, although it accounted for only 8.4% of those employed as an employer and self-employed, recorded the third highest CNPJ coverage rate, 32.4%. With lower rates were Agriculture, livestock, forestry, fishing and aquaculture (9.2%) and Construction (19.0%). 

The biggest growth in the contingent registered with the CNPJ occurred in the group of Construction: there were 70 thousand more workers in 2024, compared to 2023. Compared to 2012, there was a 210% growth in this segment, going from 250 thousand to 775 thousand workers registered with the CNPJ.

“When we analyze the formalization rate by activity group, we observe significant differences. In activities that allow greater informality, such as civil construction and agriculture, it is common to find employers who do not issue invoices or do not follow all legal requirements. In industry, trade and some services, the need for formalization is greater due to the fixed structure, greater demand for workforce and market demands," explains Kratochwill.

North and Northeast have lower percentages of those registered with the CNPJ

In 2024, the regions with the lowest proportions of self-employed workers and employers registered with the CNPJ were the North (14.8%) and the Northeast (19.2%), which historically have a greater share of informal work. On the other hand, the South (45.2%) and Central-West (40.3%) regions had the highest percentages of these workers with CNPJ. The Southeast had 39.8%. In comparison with the previous year, the only region that showed a decline was the North (from 17.1% to 14.8%).

South Region has the highest proportion of workers associated with cooperatives

In 2024, of the 29.8 million people employed as an employer or self-employed in their main job, only 4.3% (1.3 million people) were members of a work or production cooperative. This is the lowest percentage in the time series, which shows the low adherence of workers to this type of production arrangement in Brazil.

The South Region (8.2%) recorded the highest values, followed by the North Region (5.7%). The Central-West (3.7%), Northeast (3.5%) and Southeast (3.1%) regions presented values ​​below the national average. 

Most employed persons worked in their own establishments

The exercise of work in their own enterprise, which had already grown in 2023, registered a new increase: 3.2%, adding up to 49.9 million people (59.4%). On the other hand, work at home decreased to 7.9%, after recording the highest percentage in the time series in 2022 (8.4%). Another 14.2% worked in a place designated by their employers, bosses or customers; 8.6%, in a farm, ranch, etc.; 4.9%, in a motor vehicle and 2.2%, on a road or public area.

More about the survey

The Continuous PNAD Additional Characteristics of the Labor Market 2024 investigates a set of information on the workforce and addresses data on union membership, membership of work and production cooperatives, CNPJ coverage among employers and self-employed workers and place of work, with differences by sex and schooling level. The indicators are presented for Brazil as a whole, Major Regions and Federation Units. The tables are available on Sidra. For more information, access the supporting material and the complete publication.