Brazil slashes youth unemployment

While Brazil’s economic outlook is not rosy — with analysts predicting paltry GDP growth figures for the year and the possibility of a credit crisis —, the unemployment curve has been a rare silver lining. The rate of jobless workers has dropped 7 percentage points since Q1 2021, when the pandemic broke out, to 7.9 percent as of December 2022.

Youth workers were the demographic that benefited most from the expansion of hiring in the country. Among workers aged 14 to 17, the drop in unemployment was 17.6 percent, and 13.6 percent for those aged between 18 and 24. 

In May 2021, the number of Brazilian NEETs — a young person “Not in Education, Employment, or Training” — was on a steady increase. A study by think tank Fundação Getulio Vargas published at the time found that the increase was down to the deterioration of the labor market, rather than an increase in school dropouts.

The survey found that certain demographic groups are more likely to be NEETs. Uneducated teenagers (66.81%), residents of Brazil’s Northeast (32%), women (31.29%), and black people (29.09%) are the ones that suffer most. 

“The lack of decent work opportunities discourages and frustrates young people, which can have an impact on governance and affect the social development of the region because in many cases it affects employment trajectories,” says the International Labor Organization.People who fail to enter the job market at a young age — be it due to a lack of qualification or opportunity — will likely never reach their potential peak, research shows.

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