Unemployment falls to 5.3% in Brazil in the quarter ended in July, says IBGE
cbn27 August 2026 at 12:15
The unemployment rate in Brazil fell to 5.3% in the quarter ended in July, according to IBGE, a decrease of 0.5 percentage points compared to the previous quarter and 0.3 percentage points year-over-year. The number of unemployed people dropped to 5.8 million, a reduction of 8% over the quarter, while the employed population reached the highest level in the historical series, with 103.3 million workers. The employment rate rose to 58.9% and the number of discouraged workers fell to 2.3 million. Usual real earnings remained stable at R$ 3,762 in the quarter, with a 3.3% increase over one year. Informality reached 37.5% of employed workers, equivalent to 38 million workers.
Portuguese airports recorded a 2.5% increase in passenger numbers through July, with July showing growth of 2.1%. This positive performance contrasts with the declines seen in other countries, such as the United States (-9.9%), Cambodia (-9.5%) and Japan (-5.8%), according to Vinci data.
Meo saw its revenues grow 0.3% to 1.297 million euros in the first half, although in the second quarter it recorded a drop in billing of 4.6% to 648 million euros, reflecting competitive pressure in the consumer segment, offset by the expansion of the energy and business services business. The company highlighted the completion of the sale of 65% of Intelcia and the Covilhã Data Center as part of its portfolio optimization strategy. CEO Ana Figueiredo highlighted the company's "resilience" in a challenging period for the telecommunications sector.
Capital market rules are being changed again to adapt to new European directives and simplify investment. The new minimum threshold is set at 12 million euros, a significant increase compared to the eight million currently in force, representing an important change in the regulatory framework of the sector.
The CEO of Meo, Ana Figueiredo, states that the second quarter results confirm the company's resilience during one of the most challenging periods the telecommunications sector is experiencing.
