By María Josefina Arce
When Jair Bolsonaro concluded his presidential term in December 2022 he left a Brazil with a high unemployment figure. Under his administration this rate fluctuated between 11, 6% and 13.2%, the second worst in a decade.
About 14 million citizens were unemployed, especially in the states of the northeastern region of Brazil, according to official data.
The situation, aggravated by the arrival of COVID 19, although the President was against isolation measures, forced him to reverse one of his first measures. Thus, he had to reinstate in July 2021 the Ministry of Labor, which he had merged in 2019 with the Ministry of Economy.
The arrival of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to the Planalto Palace in January this year brought a change. Little by little, the South American giant is recovering from the disastrous management of the previous government.
According to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, in the last quarter, which ended last September, unemployment fell to 7, 7%, the best rate since February 2015.
Among the sectors that generated the most jobs were communication, financial, real estate and administration.
The entity specified that more than half of the people who entered the labor market did so in jobs with a contract, which guarantees them legal protection, fixed income, health insurance and pension rights.
This led to an expansion of formal employment over informal employment, which, however, according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, still shows a high tendency.
As of last August, more than 1,100,000 jobs had been created, a figure described by the authorities as positive, but still insufficient, as they hope to continue to encourage growth in this area.
The resumption of public works that were paralyzed has been one of the elements that have made possible the necessary reactivation of the labor market, which together with the social programs of Lula da Silva's government represent a hope for the poorest sectors, which already in his two previous presidential mandates were in the spotlight and millions were able to get out of poverty.
