Unemployment hits six-year low in Bolsonaro's Brazil

Brazil’s Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) reported on Thursday that the country’s jobless rate dropped to 11.2% in the three months through February, marking the lowest level for the period in six years.

According to IBGE researcher Adriana Beringuy, the number of employed people remained stable compared to the previous three-month period, which she believes may indicate the resumption of a pattern seen before the start of the coronavirus pandemic, Reuters reported.

The data further showed that the number of officially unemployed people in Brazil reached 12 million in this period – 3.1% lower than the previous three-month period and down 19.5% from the same period last year.

Although the monthly wage of $529 for workers remained unchanged from the previous three months, it fell 8.8% compared to the same period in 2021.

The government of President Jair Bolsonaro has stated that job creation will be the driving force behind economic growth this year, but economists have warned that the economy could falter should former President Lula da Silva – a socialist – wins the upcoming presidential election on October 2.

A recent survey conducted by pollster FSB Pesquisa found that Lula, who served two terms from 2003 to 2010, holds a comfortable lead in the run-up to October’s election and voters have said they would favor the former president by 43% to 29% if the election were held today – a sign that Brazilians perhaps blame Bolsonaro for the country’s inflationary woes.

These results are especially polemic for Bolsonaro whose rejection rate appears to be the highest among all potential candidates – with 59% of those surveyed saying they would never vote for him and 61% saying they disapproved of the way he was governing.

Similarly, when asked who was to blame for high gasoline and diesel prices, 29% of voters polled pointed at the Bolsonaro government while only 22% blamed state-run Petrobras oil company and only 18% blamed the war in Ukraine, Reuters reported.

The conservative president will launch his re-election campaign next Sunday and has stated that he will focus on corruption under Lula. He also dismissed the polls as inaccurate.

"I don't believe in polls, but the guy who practically destroyed Brazil is ahead," he said in a radio interview. "Either the surveys are fraudulent or people are not well informed."