Determinants of the evolution of the unemployment structure in Brazil; 1986-1995

Abstract

This paper describes the evolution of the unemployment structure, in Brazil, between 1986 and 1995, and analyses the determinants ofthe occurred changes, using a logaritmical decomposition. The main conclusions are the following: a) the main reflex of formal employment reduction was not unemployment, but informal occupancy; b) the increasing of men, family chiefs, and individuals between 30 and 60 years unemployment rates, above the general unemployment rate, was the principal explanatory factor for the growth ofthis groups relative participations in the unemployment; c) the augmentation of the spouses' relative importance in the unemployment was associated with the elevation oftheir participation rate in the economically active population; d) the changes in unemployment composition in terms ofinstruction degrees were mainly caused by variations in the labor supply, associated with changes in the composition of the population in active age.