Unemployment drops to 5.2%, the lowest for a third quarter since 2012. Compared to the same quarter last year, there was a 6.9% decrease. Construction sector employment rose 2.8%, equivalent to an additional 210,000 people.
The unemployment rate for the third quarter fell to 5.2%, the lowest ever recorded for this period since 2012. According to the Continuous National Household Sample Survey (PNAD) released this Friday (10/30) by IBGE. Unemployment was 5.4% in the second quarter of this year and 5.6% in the third quarter of 2025.
With this result, there are 5.6 million unemployed people in the country in the third quarter, a 4% decrease (234,000 fewer people) compared to the second quarter. Compared to the same quarter last year, there was a 6.9% decrease (417,000 fewer people).
The employed population reached 103.6 million, the highest in the series since 2012, with a 0.6% increase in the quarter (an additional 581,000 people) and a 1.2% increase year-on-year (an additional 1.2 million people).
Among the activities with rising employment, the construction sector stands out, increasing by 2.8% in the quarter, with 210,000 more people employed. "This is according to the research analyst, William Kratochwill."
The number of employers reached a record high of 4.5 million people, growing by 4.3% in the quarter (an additional 184,000 people) and 6.4% year-on-year (an additional 272,000 people).
Employers multiply job opportunities, as the fruits of their ventures create new opportunities. Those who were often self-employed have managed to grow and increase the number of employed people, thus also contributing to the reduction of unemployment, analyzes William.
Record also in the number of employees in the public sector (13.2 million), which remained stable in the quarter and grew by 2.5% year-on-year (an additional 317,000 people).
"The number of people working in the public sector with formal contracts was a result of the increase in employed people in education, as teachers, in preschool, elementary and secondary education, adding around 45,000 people," analyzes William. He also states that the activity of public administration and the regulation of municipal economic and social policy also contributed to hiring around 30,000 people as general clerks, systems analysts and receptionists, among others. "In other words, municipal activity had the largest contribution from the public sector," he summarizes.
The number of employees in the private sector with formal contracts (excluding domestic workers) was 39.4 million, stable in the quarter and year. Employees without formal contracts in the private sector (13.7 million), self-employed workers (26.1 million) and domestic workers (5.4 million) also remained stable in the quarter and year.
"These stabilities may indicate that the labor market was awaiting possible changes from the electoral process. Therefore, its direction will be better perceived in the next releases," says the research analyst.
Underutilization remains stable.
The composite underutilization rate (13.0%) remained stable compared to the previous quarter (12.9%) and decreased by 0.9 p.p. year-over-year (13.9%). The underutilized population (14.8 million) was stable in the quarter and declined by 6.1% year-over-year (957,000 fewer people). The underutilized group includes the unemployed, underemployed due to insufficient hours worked, as well as the potential labor force, consisting of those who sought work but were not available; and those who did not seek work but were available (discouraged or otherwise).
The population underemployed due to insufficient hours (4.3 million) grew by 5.2% in the quarter (214,000 more people) and declined by 5.4% year-over-year (247,000 fewer people). The population outside the labor force (66.5 million) remained stable in the quarter and increased by 0.8% year-over-year (530,000 more people).
As for the discouraged, those who gave up looking for work, it was 2.5 million people, an increase of 7.5% in the quarter (171,000 more people) and a decrease of 6.8% year-over-year (178,000 fewer people). The discouraged workers' proportion (2.2%) changed by 0.1 p.p. in the quarter (2.1%) and -0.2 p.p. year-over-year (2.4%).
Regarding discouragement, the reduction compared to the previous year reflects the quantitative improvement in hiring we have seen in recent quarters. However, we observed an increase compared to the quarter ended in June. The survey points to the difficulty people face in finding work they consider suitable for them, particularly among those aged 40 or over, explains William.
The usual real income from all jobs (R$ 3,790) remained stable in the quarter and grew by 3.6% year-over-year (R$ 131 more). The usual real income mass (R$ 387.5 billion) reached a record high in the series, with a 1.5% increase in the quarter (R$ 5.6 billion more) and 4.7% year-over-year (R$ 17.5 billion more).
More about the survey.
The Continuous National Household Survey (PNAD Contínua) is the main tool for monitoring the country's labor force. Its sample covers 211,000 households, distributed across the 26 states and the Federal District, visited every quarter. Approximately 2,000 interviewers work on data collection for the survey, integrated into a network of over 500 IBGE agencies.
It is possible to confirm the interviewer's identity on the IBGE Responding site or through the Customer Service Center (0800 721 8181), by checking the interviewer's registration number, RG, or CPF, data that may be requested by the informant.
The next release, referring to the quarter ended in October, will be on November 27.
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