The metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro has the lowest unemployment rate.

Vitor Abdala - Reporter for Agência Brasil

The metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro surpassed the capital of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, as the city with the lowest unemployment rate among the six capitals analyzed by the Monthly Employment Survey (PME) of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). In August, Rio had a rate of 3%, while Porto Alegre had a rate of 4,8%.

IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics) conducts monthly surveys of unemployment rates in the metropolitan regions of Recife, Salvador, Belo Horizonte, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Porto Alegre.

Rio de Janeiro has held the position of the region with the lowest unemployment rate in the country since June of this year, when the metropolitan area had a rate of 3,2% compared to 3,7% in Porto Alegre.

In July, Rio de Janeiro maintained its position, presenting a rate of 3,6%, while Porto Alegre had a rate of 3,7%.

The unemployment rate in Rio de Janeiro fell even further in August, reaching 3%, a lower rate than the 4,5% recorded in August of last year. These reductions can be explained mainly by decreases in the unemployed population of 15,8% (compared to July of this year) and 34,9% (compared to August of last year).

In Porto Alegre, the rate of 4,8% is considered stable compared to 4,3% in July of this year and 3,4% in August of last year. With the current rate, Porto Alegre has returned to the unemployment rate level of 2011. The explanation for the increase in the rate compared to last year was a 40% rise in the number of unemployed in the metropolitan region.