Brazil’s unemployment rate for the quarter ending in August stood at 5.3 percent, the lowest ever recorded for that period since 2012, when the statistics bureau IBGE began its time series. In addition, the agency reported record highs in the number of employed workers, formal employment, total payroll, and social security contributions.

The unemployment rate for the three-month period through August was down from the rolling three-month average through May (5.6%) and from the same period in 2025 (5.6%). According to the Secretariat of Economic Policy of the Ministry of Finance, the result was in line with market analysts’ expectations.

Notícias relacionadas:

• Unemployment drops to 5.3%, lowest for the quarter ending in July.
• Second quarter has 5.4% unemployment, lowest ever for the period.
• Brazil’s unemployment in quarter ending in May drops to record 5.6%.

The data are part of the Continuous PNAD (National Household Sample Survey), released Tuesday (Sep. 29).

The survey shows that in the quarter ending in August, the employed population reached 103.5 million people – the highest figure ever recorded. This figure represents a 0.8 percent increase compared to the quarter ending in May – that is, an additional 774,000 workers.

The survey also reveals that the economic sectors driving the rise in employment were general manufacturing (a two percent increase, 265,000 more people) and construction (4.1 percent, 306,000 more people).

Formal employment at an all-time high

The number of private-sector employees with formal employment reached 39.5 million, also a record high.

The unemployed population stood at 5.8 million at the end of the period, a 4.6 percent decline (down 281,000) compared to the March–May quarter.

The discouraged labor force – comprising those who do not even look for work because they believe they will not find any – totaled 2.4 million as of August – stable compared to the previous quarter and 11.9 percent lower (317,000 fewer) than the same period in 2025.

Informality – the proportion of informal workers in the employed population – stood at 37.5 percent, representing 38.8 million people. In the previous quarter, it stood at 37.3 percent.

The survey classifies as informal workers those without a formal employment contract, as well as self-employed individuals and employers without a corporate taxpayer ID. These individuals are not guaranteed benefits such as unemployment insurance, paid vacation, and a Christmas bonus.

Record payroll

The average monthly income per worker was BRL 3,777. In the quarter ending in May, it was BRL 3,752. The highest figure on record was BRL 3,783, in the quarter ending in February 2026.

The total payroll – the sum of all workers’ wages, which is ultimately used for consumption, debt repayment, investments, and savings – reached BRL 385.6 billion, the highest on record, with a 1.4 percent growth in the quarter (up BRL 5.2 billion) and a 4.8 percent growth (up BRL 17.5 billion) year-over-year.

Record-high number of social security contributors

According to the study, Brazil has reached the highest number ever recorded of workers contributing to social security institutions – 68.5 million people. This means that out of every 100 workers, 66.2 contribute.

By contributing to social security institutions, workers are entitled to benefits such as retirement, disability, and survivor’s pensions.

The agency defines contributors as employees, employers, domestic workers, and self-employed individuals who have contributed to official federal, state, or municipal social security institutions.

Labor market overview

The survey tracks labor market trends for people aged 14 and older and takes into account all forms of employment – including formal and informal jobs, temporary positions, and self-employment.

According to the research criteria, only those who actively sought a job within 30 days prior to the survey are considered unemployed. The survey visits 211,000 households across all states and the Federal District.

The lowest unemployment rate ever recorded by the PNAD was 5.1 percent, in the last quarter of 2025. The highest rate ever recorded was 14.9 percent, reached in two periods – the rolling quarters ending in September 2020 and March 2021, both during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The preliminary official inflation rate for September stood at 0.70 percent, the highest since April, when it reached 0.89 percent. The result marked a reversal from August’s deflation, when the rate stood at -0.40 percent.

The main reason for the acceleration was the reversal of the Itaipu bonus, a discount consumers received on their electricity bills the previous month.

Notícias relacionadas:

• Brazil’s August inflation comes in -0.32%, lowest in four years.

The data are from the Extended National Consumer Price Index 15 (IPCA-15), released this Friday (Sep. 25) by Brazil’s statistics bureau IBGE.

With this result, the IPCA-15 stands at 4.47 percent for the 12-month period. In August, it was 4.24 percent. In September 2025, the preliminary inflation figure stood at 0.48 percent.

In 2026, the IPCA-15 stands at 3.82 percent. Here is the month-by-month trend in the preliminary inflation rate for the year:

• January: 0.20%

• February: 0.84%

• March: 0.44%

• April: 0.89%

• May: 0.62%

• June: 0.41%

• July: 0.06%

• August: -0.40%

• September: 0.70%

Groups

To arrive at the monthly result, IBGE calculates price changes across nine groups of goods and services. Here’s how the groups performed:

·  Housing: 2.07% (impact of 0.31 percentage points)

·  Personal expenses: 0.96% (0.10 percentage points)

·  Transportation: 0.60% (0.12 percentage points)

·  Household goods: 0.55% (0.02 percentage points)

·  Communication: 0.54% (0.02 percentage points)

·  Clothing: 0.41% (0.02 percentage points)

·  Food and beverages: 0.40% (0.09 percentage points)

·  Health and personal care: 0.13% (0.02 percentage points)

·  Education: 0.03% (0 percentage points)

Itaipu bonus

The increase in the housing category - which exerted the most pressure on the preliminary figure - is explained by the price of residential electricity, which rose 7.42 percent in September, accounting for the index’s largest individual impact (0.29 percentage points). This occurred because electricity bills had fallen 6.25 percent in August, benefiting from the Itaipu Bonus.

The bonus consists of distributing the positive balance of Itaipu’s sales account, a state-owned hydroelectric plant, which is applied as a credit to electricity bills.

In September, since this discount was no longer available, the “normal” electricity bill was compared with the lower August bill, resulting in a larger month-on-month increase. This effect had already been anticipated by IBGE and analysts.

Transportation and fuels

In the Transportation group, the result was influenced by airfare, which rose 9.82 percent.

Fuel prices rose 0.22 percent, with the following price changes:

• Automotive gas: 1.56%
• Gasoline: 0.30%
• Diesel: -0.78%
• Ethanol: -0.22%

Food

In the food and beverage group, the subgroup for food consumed at home rose 0.38 percent in September. In August, a 0.97 percent decline had been recorded.

The largest increases in food consumed at home were:

• Tomatoes: 20.76%
• Rice: 2.39%
• Meat: 1.30%

The most notable decreases were:

• Carioca beans: 6.33%
• Onions: 4.41%
• Ground coffee: 1.36%

Inflation preview

The IPCA-15 uses essentially the same methodology as the IPCA - the so-called “official inflation” measure - which serves as the basis for the government’s inflation-targeting policy: a 3 percent year-over-year rate, with a tolerance margin of 1.5 percentage points on either side.

The difference lies in the price-collection period and geographic coverage. For the preliminary report, the survey is conducted and released before the end of the reference month. For the current release, data were collected from August 15 to September 15.

Both indices are based on a basket of goods and services for households earning from one to 40 minimum wages. Currently, the minimum wage is BRL 1,621.

The IPCA-15 collects prices for 367 products and services (10 fewer than the IPCA) in 11 locations across the country: the metropolitan areas of Rio de Janeiro, Porto Alegre, Belo Horizonte, Recife, São Paulo, Belém, Fortaleza, Salvador, and Curitiba, as well as Brasília and Goiânia. The IPCA covers 16 locations, including Vitória, Campo Grande, Rio Branco, São Luís, and Aracaju.

Last Monday’s (21) Focus Bulletin - a survey by Brazil’s Central Bank of financial market institutions - indicates that the market expects September inflation at 0.52 percent.