Total number of low-income workers falls 25% in 9 years.

The number of workers with an average per capita family income of up to half the minimum wage fell from 17 million in July 2002 to 12,8 million in July 2011 in six of the country's main metropolitan regions, according to a study by the Institute for Applied Economic Research (Ipea), released today. The reduction was 24,8% during the period, according to the institute, which based its survey on data from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE).

During this nine-year period, the largest reduction in the number of low-income workers occurred in Belo Horizonte (MG), which went from 2 million to 1,2 million workers, a drop of 40,5%. Next was Porto Alegre (RS), with a decrease of 32,7%, from 1,3 million people to 860. In São Paulo (SP), the reduction was 32,5%, from 6,3 million workers to 4,2 million. In Salvador (BA), the decrease was 16%, from 1,7 million to 1,4 million. In Recife (PE), the drop in the number of low-income workers was 12,4%, from 1,9 million people in July 2002 to 1,7 million in July 2011. The worst result was recorded in Rio de Janeiro (RJ), where the decrease was 11,3%, from 3,8 million to 3,3 million.

According to the study, the rate of low-income employed people in the six metropolitan regions (the ratio between the population with income below half the minimum wage and the economically active population) fell by 30,7%, from 39,1% in July 2002 to 27,1% in July 2011. The largest reduction occurred in Belo Horizonte, where the rate fell by 47,6%, from 45,6% to 23,9%. In São Paulo, the proportion of low-income employed people fell by 36,9%, from 35,2% to 22,2%. In Porto Alegre, the reduction was 36,7%, from 34,6% in 2002 to 21.9% in 2011. In Salvador, the rate decreased by 32,1%, from 55.2% in July 2002 to 37,5% in July 2011. In Recife, the rate fell by 21,2% during the period, from 58,1% in July 2002 to 45,8% in July 2011. In Rio, the rate dropped by 15,3%, the worst result among the regions, from 33,9% to 28,7%.

According to Ipea, the Rio de Janeiro metropolitan area was the only one to show a relative absolute increase in the number of low-income workers between July 2010 and 2011. During this period, the rate of low-income employed people rose 4,4%, from 27,5% to 28,7%; and the number of workers increased 5,1%, from 3,1 million to 3,3 million. Also according to the institute, during the analyzed period, the relative participation of regions in the total low-income employed population fell in São Paulo, Porto Alegre, and Belo Horizonte, and rose in Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, and Recife.