Dinâmica da qualidade do emprego no Brasil em períodos de crises e reformas econômicas

Abstract

This research aims to analyze the dynamics and determinants of job quality in Brazil from 2012 to 2023. During this period, the country experienced a context of institutional changes and economic crises that profoundly altered labor market outcomes. With this in mind, this research sought to contribute to the literature by proposing the creation of a job quality index for the Brazilian case, in line with the research and reports being developed by the ILO. Using microdata from the annual version of the PNAD Contínua, a job quality index was developed encompassing four dimensions: i) job stability; ii) occupation sector; iii) underemployment; and iv) monetary income. Next, an ordered logit model was estimated using the index categories as the response variable, aiming to identify the determinants of job quality in Brazil. The results reveal an interesting dynamic of job quality throughout the 2012-2023 period. Between 2015 and 2019, a period marked by the economic crisis and labor reform, job precariousness increased and remained at a higher level than in 2014. In 2020, as a consequence of the Covid 19 pandemic, the index shows a significant decline, suggesting an improvement in job quality. Although seemingly counterintuitive, this phenomenon can be explained by the mass exodus of informal workers, the vast majority of whom earned less than the minimum wage. In the following years, precarious employment grew again persistently. Regarding the estimation results, in general, job quality is higher for men, white individuals, and those with higher levels of education.