Brazil Formal Jobs Top 1.13 Million in 2026, Slower Than 2025’s Pace

BRAZIL · ECONOMY

Brazil formal jobs passed 1.13 million this year, a figure pro-government media cite to call Lula the jobs president. The same data show hiring slowing against 2025.

Workers in São Paulo, the state that created the most formal jobs in Brazil from January to August 2026, according to the Labour Ministry.

Brazil created a net 1,134,033 formal jobs from January to August 2026, Labour Ministry data released on 29 September show. That lifted formal employment by 2.41%, but the gain is about a quarter smaller than in the same months of 2025.

What the Labour Ministry reported

The figures come from the Novo Caged, the register in which employers report every formal hire and dismissal. In August, 2,294,563 people were hired and 2,128,736 left their jobs.

That left a net gain of 165,827 formal jobs for the month. The number of active formal contracts reached 48,244,696, the ministry said.

How supporters frame it

Brasil 247, a pro-government news site, wrote on 30 September that Lula “consolidates himself as the president of job creation”. It called job creation one of the main economic results of his government.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of the Workers’ Party seeks re-election on Sunday 4 October. His main rival is Senator Flávio Bolsonaro of the Liberal Party.

The ministry’s own tables allow a comparison with earlier years. That comparison tells a more mixed story than the headline total.

Brazil,Former Presidents Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Dilma Rousseff at São Fracisco River works, photo by Ricardo Stuckert/Instituto Lula

Where the jobs came from

Services, from health care to logistics, created 697,859 jobs from January to August, growth of 3.05%. Construction added 200,431, up 6.79%, and industry 170,442.

Commerce barely grew, adding 9,300 jobs, or 0.09%. São Paulo state led with 306,883 new posts, ahead of Minas Gerais with 123,176 and Rio de Janeiro with 77,670.

Young people took most of August’s gains. Workers aged up to 24 accounted for a net 128,997 of the month’s 165,827 jobs.

In relative terms, growth was fastest in smaller states: Amapá (6.30%) and Acre (4.09%) in the north, and Piauí (4.27%).

An uneven year, month by month

February was the strongest month of 2026, with 268,156 net jobs, and March added 228,133. Hiring then cooled, with about 80,000 jobs each in April and May.

July brought only 55,915, the weakest month of the year. August’s 165,827 was the best result since March, though one month does not yet show a turn.

Brazil, Rio de Janeiro,The one-day nationwide postal worker strike will continue in many states, including Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo photo by Fernando Frazão/Agencia Brasil.

A slower pace, and a December dip

The same ministry data show a slowdown. In January to August 2025, Brazil created 1,516,881 formal jobs, so this year’s total is about 25% lower.

Hiring has stalled rather than fallen. Hires rose only 0.37% on the year, while exits rose 2.66%, the ministry’s own comparison shows.

The current series began in 2020, and only that pandemic year was weaker for January to August. In May, we reported that April had been the weakest month of 2026 so far.

Part of August’s gain came from non-standard contracts. They made up 26.5% of the month’s jobs, mostly part-time posts of up to 30 hours a week and apprentices.

A January-to-August figure is not a full year. Brazil’s formal job count usually falls at year-end, when temporary and seasonal contracts end.

In December 2025 alone, Brazil lost a net 635,078 formal jobs, ministry data show. Over the 12 months to August 2026, the net gain was 887,708, or 1.87%.

What the household survey adds

IBGE, the national statistics office, measures work through a household survey that includes informal jobs. Unemployment was 5.3% in June to August, down from 5.6% a year earlier.

The number of people in work reached 103.5 million, the highest in the survey’s history. Yet 37.5% of workers, about 38.8 million people, still hold informal jobs.

Private-sector employees with a signed work card, Brazil’s formal contract, reached a record 39.5 million. The ministry’s 48.2 million counts contracts reported by employers, while IBGE counts people in sampled homes.

Average real income was R$3,777 a month (about US$724 at 29 September’s rate), up 3.7% in a year. New formal hires started on an average R$2,410.74 (about US$462).

What it means for residents and investors

For families, a tight job market has supported income and spending. For employers, including foreign-owned firms, it means pressure on wages and on finding staff.

The data cut both ways in the campaign. Supporters point to 1.13 million new jobs, while the ministry’s own tables show hiring losing speed.

The September figures, due after the vote, will show which of the two trends holds into the year-end.

More: Brazil news, every day from The Rio Times.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many formal jobs has Brazil created in 2026?

Brazil created a net 1,134,033 formal jobs from January to August 2026, according to Labour Ministry data released on 29 September. August alone added 165,827.

Is Brazil creating more jobs than in 2025?

No. The January-to-August total is about 25% below the 1,516,881 jobs created in the same period of 2025. Hires were almost flat while exits rose.

What is Brazil’s unemployment rate?

Brazil’s unemployment rate was 5.3% in the June-to-August 2026 quarter, down from 5.6% a year earlier, IBGE reported. About 37.5% of workers remain in informal jobs.

Sources: Brasil 247 · Ministry of Labour and Employment (MTE) — Novo Caged release · Ministry of Labour and Employment (MTE) — Novo Caged August 2026 presentation · IBGE — PNAD Contínua, June-August 2026