Economy

Loss of income and high unemployment: How the Covid-19 pandemic is affecting Brazilians

Almost half of Brazilians saw their family income decrease amid the crisis

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  • Unemployment increased in Brazil boosted by more layoffs and company closings in July;
  • The loss of income reached 62% of those surveyed by Datafolha.

The coronavirus pandemic is having repercussions on several economical ways in Brazil, both in terms of income and employment. More than half of Brazilians, about 107 million people, live in households that have been receiving some kind of government aid, according to O Estado de São Paulo.

In July, 44.1% of Brazilians received some aid, compared to 43% in the previous month. According to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), the North and Northeast regions of the country are the ones that most receive aid, with 60.6% and 59.6% of households covered, respectively. The government’s financial help raised the income of 52 million people from the lowest income brackets.

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Besides this, almost half of Brazilians saw their family income decrease amid the pandemic, according to a Datafolha survey. Among informal, self-employed and businessmen, the loss of income reached 62% of those interviewed, says Folha de São Paulo.

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Valor Econômico pointed out that unemployment increased in Brazil and this growth was mainly caused by more layoffs and company shutdowns in July.

According to IBGE, different from what was imagined, the unemployment increase of 12.4%, in June, to 13.1%, in July, was not pressured by the return of people seeking for a job with lockdown measures eased. At least 380,000 companies laid off in July and the Brazilians outside the workforce, those who do not look for jobs, rose 2.12%, reaching 76.47 million people.

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