The unemployment rate in Brazil was 5.4% in the quarter ending in January this year, according to data from the Continuous National Household Sample Survey (Pnad Contínua), released this Thursday (5) by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE).
The index was stable compared to the previous quarter of 2025, but fell compared to the moving period from November 2024 to January 2025, when the rate was 6.5%. The unemployed population totaled 5.9 million people, while the employed population reached 102.7 million. The employment level — percentage of employed people in the population of working age — was 58.7%.
The usual real income from all jobs in the quarter ending in January 2026 reached R$3,652, the highest value in the historical series, with an increase of 2.8%. According to IBGE, the usual real income bill also reached a new record in the period.
