The Central Bank of Brazil has introduced monthly indicators tracking wage adjustments negotiated through collective bargaining agreements in the formal private sector. The series expand its monitoring of labor market conditions and their relationship with inflation, covering nominal and real wage changes, the share of agreements with increases above, below or equal to inflation, and the number of collective instruments included in the calculations. Built from the Ministry of Labor and Employment’s Collective Bargaining System and covering all regions, the indicators will be published regularly through the central bank’s Time Series Management System. The accompanying analysis finds that negotiated wage adjustments closely track past inflation as measured by the National Consumer Price Index, even though full inflation compensation is not legally required. The proportion of agreements delivering above-inflation increases was higher in 2012-2014 and again after 2023, when unemployment rates were relatively low, while trends were broadly similar across agriculture, industry, construction, commerce and services.
Central Bank of Brazil launches monthly indicators on collectively bargained wage adjustments
The Central Bank of Brazil has launched monthly indicators on collectively bargained wage adjustments in the formal private sector. The data show that past inflation remains a central reference in negotiations and that above-inflation increases are more common during periods of relatively low unemployment.