BRASILIA – Brazil lost 4.9 million formal and informal jobs between February and April, during the arrival of the coronavirus pandemic, increasing the unemployment rate from 11.3% to 12.6% in just three months, the Institute reported Brazilian Geography and Statistics (IBGE).

The numbers linking unemployment to the explosion of the coronavirus in Brazil indicate that the employed population had a record drop of 5.2% compared to the previous quarter, with 3.7 million informal jobs being lost.

In January, the employed population was 94.2 million people and now in April it fell to 89.2 million.

The first case in Brazil was registered on February 26 in São Paulo, which affected commerce that lost 1.2 million jobs, against 885,000 in civil construction and 727,000 in domestic services.

The Brazilian’s real income fell 3.3% in the quarter between February and April, the way in which unemployment in Brazil by the IBGE is calculated.

‘Very significant drop’ in Chilean economy expected amid rise in unemployment

The unemployment rate for the quarter ended in April is higher than the highest recorded in the Jair Bolsonaro government, which had been 12.7% in March last year.

According to IBGE, the index of “discouraged” to look for work grew 7% in April, reaching 5 million unemployed people who are no longer looking for a job..–MercoPress