Brazil Jobless Rate Rises To 8.4%

Brazil’s unemployment rate increased in the three months ended January, figures from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, or IBGE, showed on Friday.

The jobless rate rose to 8.4 percent in the November to January period from 7.9 percent in the October to December period.

The rate represents stability in comparison with the previous quarter, which ended in October 2022, when it stood at 8.3 percent, the agency said.

Further, this was the lowest unemployment rate for the November to January period since 2015.

In the corresponding period last year, the unemployment rate was 11.2 percent.

The number of unemployed people was 9.0 million, the same as in the quarter ended in October.

Meanwhile, the employment rate dropped to 56.7 percent in the November to January period from 57.2 percent in the October to December period.

Data also showed that usual real income grew 1.6 percent in the January quarter and rose 7.7 percent in the annual comparison.