Brazil unemployment falls to 5.8% in quarter to April, interrupting rise

Brazil's unemployment rate decreased to 5.8% in the quarter ending April, a welcome drop from 6.1% in the previous quarter. This marks the third consecutive decline and reaches the lowest level recorded for this period since data collection began.

The number of unemployed individuals in Latin America's largest economy fell to 6.3 million, down from 6.6 million in the preceding three months. Concurrently, the employed population remained largely stable at 102.3 million people. The rate of informal employment also saw a slight decrease, moving from 37.3% to 37.2% of the employed population.

This positive trend in unemployment occurs despite prevailing economic forecasts predicting a slowdown for Brazil in 2026. Factors contributing to this anticipated deceleration include the persistently high interest rate environment. Brazil experienced economic growth of 2.3% in 2025, following a 3.4% expansion in 2024. The central bank currently estimates a growth rate of approximately 1.6% for the current year.