Youth Labor Market Prospects in Times of Economic Recession in Brazil

Abstract

The article examines young people’s labor market prospects in Brazil during the most recent economic recession (2014–2017). We draw on data from the Continuous National Household Sample Survey (PNAD Continua), between 2012 and 2017, to estimate both average labor market indicators over time and proportional hazard models of unemployment and underemployment. We find that youths’ labor market prospects declined considerably over the period, and, as in many countries during economic downturns, young people were more affected than adults. The analysis shows that gender, race, and education impact the hazards of unemployment and underemployment among young Brazilians. Kaplan-Meier curves show that differences between white and African Brazilian youth, as well as between college-educated youth and high school graduates (or less), increased between 2016 and 2017, when economic activity was at its worst level.