Unemployment is the main economic concern of Brazilians, says research

Unemployment became the main concern of Brazilians in December, taking into account only economic factors, according to the Genial/Quaest survey, released this Wednesday (8).

Until November, the country’s biggest economic problem in people’s perception was low growth, with 23% of people evaluating this aspect of the economy negatively, against 14% of Brazilians who indicated the difficulty of finding work as their main concern.

This month, unemployment as a top concern jumped to 18%, while economic growth dropped to 14%, according to the survey.

The main economic problems in December were:

• Unemployment: 18%
• Economic growth: 14%
• Inflation: 9%

Concern about inflation ranks third, with 9% of people indicating this issue as the most worrying from an economic point of view.

In July, only 2% were predominantly concerned about rising prices. The index rose as much as 11% in November and fell slightly in the last month.

See other points from the Genial/Quaest survey on the perception of Brazilians in December regarding the country’s main problems.

Economy 2021/2022

For most respondents, the Brazilian economy has deteriorated in the last year: 70% of respondents identified a worsening in the economic situation. Only 17% rated an improvement and 12% said the situation remained stable.

The outlook for the next 12 months is for the most part to improve: 41% of people see a more promising short-term horizon.

Another 31% understand that the country’s economic situation could get worse and 22% that it should stay the same next year.

In the last year, the economy:

• Worse: 70%
• Improved: 17%
• It was stable: 12%

For next year, the economy should:

• Improve: 41%
• Worse: 31%
• Stay stable: 22%

Main problems in the country as a whole

The economy appears as the country’s main problem for survey respondents, with 41% indicating this issue as the most sensitive.

Health and problems related to the pandemic appear in second place, with 19%.

Social issues and corruption come next, with 14% and 10% of people indicating these problems as the most serious, respectively.

• Economy: 41%
• Health/pandemic: 19%
• Social issues: 14%
• Corruption: 10%

Pandemic concerns

On the issue of the pandemic, 62% of Brazilians said in December they were very concerned, which represents an increase in relation to the 55% registered in the previous month. In July, this number reached 79% and, since then, it had been falling, but suffered a reversal.

This month, 30% said they were not worried and 7% said they were not worried.

• Very worried: 62%
• A little worried: 30%
• Nothing worried: 7%

Social questions

Hunger and misery are the main concerns of Brazilians when it comes to social issues.

In July, 4% of Brazilians indicated that the matter was the most urgent when the topic was social problems, a number that rose to 11% in December.

Inequality appears stable in second place, considered a major concern for 2% of people.

The topic related to the growth of people living on the streets is the biggest problem for 1% of Brazilians. Housing and housing have an index close to zero.

• Hunger/Misery: 11%
• Inequality: 2%
• Poverty/people living on the streets: 1%
• Housing/housing: 0%