Unemployment holds at a record low of 5.3%
IBGE's household survey shows 103.3 million people in work, the most ever for the period.
The unemployment rate came in at 5.3% in the three months to July, according to the PNAD Contínua household survey published by IBGE. That is a record low for the period, with employment reaching 103.3 million.
The survey captures the whole labour market, formal and informal, so it is a broader read than the payroll register. On that broader measure, the market remains tight even as growth has slowed.
A tight labour market cuts both ways for the central bank: it supports consumption and government revenue, but it also keeps services inflation sticky. The August inflation print showed that pressure easing, which is why the two data sets are being read together.
Underutilisation, the wider measure that includes discouraged and part-time workers wanting more hours, stood at 13.0%.