Agribusiness loses jobs in 2020, but at a lower intensity than the country

In 2020, the employed population (PO) in agribusiness totaled 17,3 million workers, a drop of 5,2% (or 949 thousand people) compared to 2019, according to research by Cepea (Center for Advanced Studies in Applied Economics ), from Esalq/USP, based on information from PNAD-Contínua microdata and RAIS data. The number of employed people in Brazil, in turn, registered a more intense drop between 2019 and 2020, of 7,9%, equivalent to 7,3 million people. In this way, the participation of agribusiness in the Brazilian labor market increased to 20,1%, against 19,5% in 2019.

According to Cepea researchers, the result of the agribusiness job market in 2020 was linked to the decline in jobs in all segments of the sector, with emphasis on agroindustry and agroservices.

And this decrease in the number of people employed in agribusiness over the past year occurred at a higher magnitude than usual, which may be linked, at least in part, to the Covid-19 crisis. Cepea researchers recall that abrupt reductions occurred especially between April and June 2020, and signs of recovery in the job market were observed in the third quarter, which was confirmed in the last quarter of the year.

More vulnerable profiles are more affected in the scenario of job reduction

Analyzes disaggregated by groups of workers showed that those most affected were employees without a formal contract, those with lower levels of formal education and women. These data corroborate the result that, faced with shocks in the labor market, workers with the most vulnerable profiles were the first and most affected.

The average effective monthly income in agribusiness grew in 2020, with emphasis on the employer category. According to Cepea researchers, this increase may also be related to the exit from the agribusiness labor market of those individuals who were most affected by the crisis – and have lower incomes, thus increasing the sector's average income.