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A recent study by FGV establishes a correlation between the decrease in job searches and the increase in the Bolsa Família amount.
The assumption that, upon receiving Bolsa Família, people stop looking for work is common. This theory was not statistically confirmed for years. However, this situation seems to be changing, as revealed by a new study by Fundação Getúlio Vargas (FGV). The study suggests that benefit payments may be influencing unemployment rates.
The FGV research links the program's payments to the apparent decline in unemployment in the country. They point out that the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) count of unemployed people includes only those who are actively looking for work and cannot find it.
An unemployed person who is not looking for work, for example, is not counted by IBGE as unemployed. Thus, a possible decrease in unemployment in Brazil may be being masked by a probable reduction in the search for work.
Read also: Restructuring of Bolsa Família? Understand the changes with the current MP
How does Bolsa Família fit into this?
According to FGV researchers, Bolsa Família may be contributing to this phenomenon. Upon receiving payments from the social program, some individuals may stop looking for work, perhaps out of fear of losing the social benefit provided by the federal government.
According to the rules of the Ministry of Social Development, Family and Hunger Alleviation, citizens may not have a per capita income higher than R$ 660. If they exceed this amount, they lose their right to the benefit. If they exceed R$ 218, the amount is already reduced by half.
Growing impact
The program's impact on unemployment rates has increased in recent years, according to FGV's new study. This is happening because there has been a significant increase in the amount paid by the social program to its beneficiaries, as well as an increase in the number of people served.
According to the Ministry of Social Development, a Bolsa Família beneficiary can currently receive more than one minimum wage, depending on the number of members in their household. A woman with two children under six years old, for example, initially receives R$ 900.
For comparison purposes, Bolsa Família paid an average of R$ 189 per family until the end of 2021. Since then, the total number of users has grown significantly, rising from around 14 million in August 2021 to just over 20 million now in July 2023, according to official data from the Ministry of Social Development.
“Bolsa Família has become the main suspect in explaining this change in the number of people employed or looking for work in Brazil. It is important to note that previous studies on Bolsa Família never clearly confirmed this relationship between the program and people leaving the labor market, especially because the benefit amount was low,” said economist Fernando de Holanda Barbosa Filho, the study’s coordinator.
“We also found that the social groups that contributed most to the decline in the labor market participation rate were people with lower incomes and levels of education. Specifically, those who participate in Bolsa Família,” he added.
Bolsa Família payments in July
Bolsa Família payments for July began this Tuesday (18). Today, for example, it is the turn of users whose Social Identification Number (NIS) ends in 1. See the full schedule below:
Read also: Check whether you were approved for Bolsa Família 2023. Learn how to check.
- Users with NIS ending in 1: July 18 (Tuesday);
- Users with NIS ending in 2: July 19 (Wednesday);
- Users with NIS ending in 3: July 20 (Thursday);
- Users with NIS ending in 4: July 21 (Friday);
- Users with NIS ending in 5: July 24 (Monday);
- Users with NIS ending in 6: July 25 (Tuesday);
- Users with NIS ending in 7: July 26 (Wednesday);
- Users with NIS ending in 8: July 27 (Thursday);
- Users with NIS ending in 9: July 28 (Friday);
- Users with NIS ending in 0: July 31 (Monday).
