Brazil Sheds Jobs in Decemeber

Brazil shed 618,164 formal jobs in December 2025, well above forecasts for a loss of around 478,000 and reversing November’s gain of 85,900. December typically sees seasonal layoffs, and the 1.26% monthly decline was broadly in line with the recent December average of 1.07%. All five major sectors posted net losses, led by services (-280,810), followed by industry (-135,087), construction (-104,077), commerce (-54,355), and agriculture (-43,836). Every state recorded negative balances, with the largest losses in São Paulo (-224,282), Minas Gerais (-72,755), and Paraná (-51,087).

Brazil created 85,900 formal jobs in November 2025, above market expectations of 75,000 and higher than October’s 85,147. There were 1.98 million hires and 1.89 million layoffs. Even so, job creation was 19% lower than in November 2024, marking the weakest November reading since the current series began in 2020. Agriculture (-16,500), construction (-23,800), and industry (-27,000) posted net job losses, with cuts concentrated in soybean and sugarcane cultivation, raw sugar manufacturing, and infrastructure and building projects. Commerce (78,000) and services (75,100) were the only sectors with net gains. By state, São Paulo led job creation with 31,100 positions, followed by Rio de Janeiro (19,900) and Pernambuco (9,000), while Minas Gerais (-8,700) and Goiás (-8,400) recorded the weakest results. The average starting wage rose to R$2,310.78 from R$2,304.31 in October.

Brazil created 85,147 formal jobs in October 2025, below market expectations of 105,000 and down from 213,002 in September, with 2,271,460 hires and 2,186,313 layoffs. Two of the five major activity groups recorded gains, led by services which added 82,436 jobs and commerce and vehicle repairs which added 25,592, while construction lost 2,875 jobs and industry lost 10,092. Agriculture, livestock, forestry and fishing declined by 9,917 jobs. Distrito Federal posted the largest relative increase at 1.47 percent to 15,467 jobs, followed by Alagoas at 0.97 percent to 4,657 and Pernambuco at 0.67 percent to 10,596. São Paulo added 18,456 jobs at 0.12 percent, and Rio de Janeiro added 7,437 at 0.19 percent. The average admission wage rose to R$2,304.31 from R$2,286.34 in September.