Brazil unemployment rate drops to 5.8% in April, halting rise

Brazil's unemployment rate saw a welcome decrease in April, falling to 5.8% from 6.1% in March. This marks an interruption to a series of increases and reaches the lowest level for this period since records began, according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and History (IBGE).

The number of jobless individuals in Latin America's largest economy dropped to 6.3 million, down from 6.6 million the previous month. The employed population, however, remained largely unchanged at 102.3 million people. The rate of informality also saw a slight dip, moving from 37.3% to 37.2% of the employed population.

However, the positive unemployment figures are tempered by a slowdown in formal job creation. In April, Brazil generated 85,888 new formal jobs, a 62.3% decrease compared to March and the lowest monthly figure so far this year. This pace is also significantly slower than the 238,216 jobs created in April 2025. The Ministry of Labor data indicates this is the slowest April for job creation in six years.

This deceleration in job growth occurs amidst forecasts of an economic slowdown in Brazil for 2026, partly attributed to high interest rates. The reduced job creation has lowered the total number of formal jobs generated in the first four months of the year to 699,762, compared to 913,827 in the same period of 2025. Despite these concerns, Brazil had a record 47.8 million employees with full labor guarantees in April.

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The unemployment rate fell three tenths and reached its lowest level for this period since records began.