Unemployment falls to 5.2% and reaches the lowest level in the series started in 2012
Pnad Contínua shows 5.6 million unemployed people in the quarter from July to September, in line with market projections.
BY THE X-TRADER NEWS NEWSROOM · REPORTING FROM REVISTA OESTE · 2 MIN
The number of Brazilians without a job fell to 5.6 million in the quarter ended in September, and the unemployment rate was 5.2%, the lowest in the series starting in 2012, according to Money Times. The Pnad Contínua data were released by IBGE on Friday, 30.
The survey is quarterly and covers the period from July to September, not the individual month. In relation to the quarter up to June, the rate fell 0.2 percentage points, from 5.4% to 5.2%, according to Estadão. In comparison with the same period in 2025, when unemployment was 5.6%, the decrease was 0.4 points. Revista Oeste quotes 5.3% for the previous quarter, a figure that differs from the 5.4% reported by Estadão and InfoMoney.
In absolute numbers, the number of unemployed people totaled 5.6 million. Compared to the quarter from April to June, when there were 5.9 million, the drop was 4.0%, or 234 thousand people, according to Estadão and InfoMoney. In the annual comparison, with 6.0 million in the same quarter of 2025, the decline reached 6.9%, or 417 thousand people.
The result was in line with what was expected. The median of Broadcast's projections was 5.2%, according to Money Times, and the Reuters median was also 5.2%, according to InfoMoney. The data, therefore, did not bring any relevant surprise to analysts.
For those who follow interest rates, the dollar and the stock market, the indicator works as a thermometer of activity, but a single quarter does not define a trend. Reading the next surveys will be decisive in knowing whether the improvement is sustainable.
What changes for the investor
A job market with fewer unemployed people tends to support income and consumption, which tends to be of interest to sectors linked to retail and credit. As the data came in line with projections, the immediate reaction tends to be one of continuity, not shock. Still, steady employment can keep inflation under observation by the Central Bank, a factor that influences interest rates and exchange rates and, consequently, the appetite for risky assets on the stock exchange and Nasdaq. Investors do well to monitor the next indicators before drawing conclusions, without taking this isolated reading as the basis for buying or selling decisions.
Automatically translated from Portuguese.
