Informal work stops falling in the country

By ETCO
29/11/2012

Source: Época Negócios Online - 27/11/2012

Mass social inclusion process that allowed the emergence of class C was interrupted

The process of mass social inclusion that led to the emergence of a new middle class, access to credit and the acquisition of durable goods, marks of the Brazilian economy in the last decade, was interrupted. This year, for the first time since 2001, informality in the labor market has not dropped. It was unchanged. The data are from the Underground Economy Index (IES), prepared by the Brazilian Institute of Economics of the Getúlio Vargas Foundation (Ibre / FGV) in partnership with the Brazilian Institute of Competition Ethics (Etco).

In 2012, workers without a formal contract, who traditionally receive lower wages than formal workers, remained with practically the same participation in the GDP, of 16,9%, an advance of only 0,1 percentage point in relation to the previous year, considered a residual difference. A year earlier, in 2010, the informal economy corresponded to 17,7% of GDP.

Informality dropped by 0,7 percentage points each year since 2007, having retracted by 1,2% from 2009 to 2010. Between 2003 and 2010, the number of formal jobs in the country grew 53,6%, according to data International Labor Organization (ILO). The main cause of the good results in this period was the expansion of formal employment. With the slowdown in Brazilian growth, estimated at 1,5% in 2012, the natural tendency is for formality to also slow down.

“There is a parallel Brazil that contributes to the economy, but on the outside. It occurs more in the universe of micro and small companies, however, it compromises the balance of the business environment ”, highlighted the president of Etco, Roberto Abdenur.

The study classifies this black economy as an underground economy, which corresponds to any activity not reported to the government, which does not generate taxes, nor any labor guarantees for the employee. “Informality is a fever, a symptom of the disease, not the disease itself. Therefore, the solution is not related to the tightening of inspection, to the extinction of informality, because its reverse is not formalization. It is necessary to attack the causes ”, analyzed the researcher from Ibre / FGV, responsible for preparing the IES, Fernando Barbosa Filho.

A study released in August by the Brazilian Institute of Economics (Ibre) of the Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV), shows that the increase in the average education level of Brazilian workers has a direct impact in reducing informality in the labor market. It is estimated that 60% of the general drop in informality can be explained by the increase in the worker's education.