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Number of unemployed people in Rio has fallen by 52% in the last four years
Published on 27/06/2025 - 17:25 | Updated
A survey showed that the unemployment rate fell to its lowest level in nine years. Photo: Roberto Moreyra/SMTE The number of unemployed Rio residents has plummeted 52% in the last four years, falling from 539,8 thousand in the fourth quarter of 2020 to 255,6 thousand at the end of 2024.
The survey conducted by the City of Rio, through the Municipal Secretariat for Economic Development (SMDE), showed that the unemployment rate fell by 9,3 percentage points (pp) in this period, reaching 6,9% in the fourth quarter of 2024 – the lowest level in the last nine years. In the same period, the number of people employed, both formal and informal, grew by 641,6 thousand, totaling 3,4 million workers in the city.
On an annual average, the unemployment rate in 2024 was 8%, a drop of 7 percentage points compared to 2020, when it reached 15%. The City Hall estimates that this rate will be around 7% in 2025, a reduction of 1 percentage point compared to the previous year.
– Rio is consolidating itself as a hub of opportunities. With tourism booming due to major events, good projects and initiatives, and investment in infrastructure, the city has been creating jobs for the population. We will continue working to ensure that more and more Rio residents have access to employment and income. This is how the city will develop – analyzed Osmar Lima, municipal secretary of Economic Development.
Number of people in vulnerable situations drops by almost half in Rio
Between the fourth quarter of 2020 and the same period in 2024, the number of people in vulnerable situations in the city of Rio de Janeiro fell by 46,8%, from 798,9 thousand people to 452,2 thousand, which represented a reduction of 373,3 thousand residents. The survey considers individuals who are unemployed, underemployed, discouraged and unavailable for work as vulnerable.
Rio's numbers in relation to Brazil
In the fourth quarter of 2020, the national unemployment rate was 14,2%, while the rate in the capital of Rio de Janeiro was 16,2%: a difference of 2 percentage points. On average, between 2021 and 2024, this difference fell to 1,1 percentage points. At the end of 2024, the gap between the rates was even smaller: just 0,7 percentage points, with Brazil recording 6,2% unemployment and Rio, 6,9%.
Formal employment on the rise
Rio also performed well in generating formal jobs. Based on data from CAGED, from the Ministry of Labor and Employment (MTE), there was a generation of more than 350 thousand (351,1 thousand) new formal jobs between January 2021 and April 2025.
The survey shows that the capital was responsible for almost half (49,5%) of all formal jobs created in the state of Rio de Janeiro during the period. In addition, the city accounted for 4% of the 8,8 million new jobs created in the country. The current stock of formal workers in the city is 2,1 million.
The services sector led the way in job creation, accounting for 73,6% of new jobs. Next came construction (10,4%), commerce (10,2%) and industry (5,7%). The hiring profile indicates a strong presence of young people in the job market: around 80% of new jobs were filled by people between 18 and 29 years old.
The balanced participation between genders is also noteworthy: 52,6% of the new positions were filled by men and 47,4% by women. The analysis by education level shows the predominance of workers with completed secondary education (82%).
Microenterprises lead job creation in Rio
Microenterprises were the main responsible for the creation of new jobs in the city of Rio de Janeiro, accounting for 71,5% of the hiring in the period analyzed. Large companies contributed with 25,7% of the vacancies, while medium-sized companies accounted for 4,5%. Small companies, on the other hand, had a negative balance, with the elimination of six thousand jobs.
The surveys reinforce the trend of recovery and expansion of the Rio de Janeiro economy, driven by public policies aimed at generating employment, encouraging entrepreneurship and professional qualification.
Full details are available in the Special Study “Labor Market in Rio (2021-2024)” and in the sixth edition of the Rio Economic Bulletin, published by the Rio Economic Observatory: economic observatory.rio.
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