Brazil’s unemployment rate reached 5.4% in the quarter ending in October, the lowest level recorded in the entire historical series, which began in 2012. The data was released on Friday (28) by the IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics).
The number of unemployed fell to the lowest level since the beginning of the survey. In the three months to September, Brazil recorded 5.91 million people suffering from the condition. The result represents a decrease of 3.4% compared to the previous quarter (207 thousand fewer people) and 11.8% in one year (788 thousand fewer people).
Previously, in the three months through September, the rate was 5.6%, a result that replicated the rate seen in the quarters through July and August 2025.
The unemployed population consists of people aged 14 or over who are unemployed and continue to search for opportunities.
During this period, the total number of workers in the country reached 102.5 million, a record but stable level, according to the institute. The employment level, which represents the percentage of employed people among the working-age population, was 58.8%.
According to Adriana Araujo Berengoy, an analyst at IBGE, the construction sector was one of the most notable sectors in the quarter. The growth in this activity reached 2.6%, with the addition of 192 thousand people.
“In construction, we know that as the end of the year approaches and the fourth quarter arrives, it tends to grow. In this activity, we are already seeing this behavior in the quarter ending in October,” Beringoy says.
The IBGE data are part of the Continuing National Household Sample Survey (Continuing National Household Sample Survey). The survey looks at formal and informal labor markets.