According to new info from the Caged (the General Register of Employed and Unemployed) database, released this Tuesday by the Ministry of Economy, Brazil lost 1,198,363 formal jobs in the first half of the year, the worst result for the period since the beginning of the historical series of this indicator, with the current methodology, in 2010.
In the same period last year, 408,500 vacancies were created. The job market was strongly affected by the coronavirus pandemic, which caused the closure of several economic activities in the country. The result of the first semester is the balance, that is, the difference between 6,718,276 hires and 7,916,639 dismissals.
In June alone, 10,984 job openings were closed, with the worst result for the month since 2016 (-91,032 jobs). The number is worse than that registered in June 2019 (+48,436 jobs), but shows a slowdown in the pace of job losses compared to previous months, also affected by the new coronavirus pandemic. Below, a summary of the loss of formal job vacancies in Brazil made by the UOL news portal:
- June: -10,984 jobs;
- May: -350,303 jobs;
- April: -918,286 jobs;
- March: -259,917 jobs.
Although federal government officials have said that the June figures signal an improvement in the formal labor market scenario, it is important to note that the reopening of activities in the country occurs even amid the increase in the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths caused by the disease – which means that, unlike other countries, Brazil may need, in the near future, new stoppages to contain a collapse in the health system.
