Ohe professionals who earn minimum wage in metropolitan regions are mostly men aged between 25 and 44 who have not completed primary school. The conclusion is part of the scientific initiation study carried out by Alessandra Scalioni Brito, guided by professor Paulo Eduardo de Andrade Baltar, from the Institute of Economics. Based on data contained in the National Household Sample Survey (Pnad) – released by IBGE – for the period from 1992 to 2003, Alessandra carried out a detailed analysis to outline the profile of workers who earn minimum wage in Brazil.

Men have between 25 and 44
years and 1st degree incomplete

The research considered busy residents in metropolises that make up a universe of 22 million people. “Small locations could lead to discrepancies in results. Retirees also do not participate in the research because they deserve a separate study”, explains the student. The Northeast, Southeast and South regions were considered, with São Paulo being treated separately as it involves a high number of employed people.

In a first stage of analysis, research financed by CNPq revealed that, although the majority of those earning minimum wage in metropolitan regions did not complete primary school (47,1%), it is clear that over the period the rate doubled of workers with a high school diploma. In 1992, the percentage was 12,3%, while 2003 recorded 27,3% of workers with higher education. “This means that the population is more educated, but the economy has not generated jobs capable of absorbing this more educated workforce”, assesses Alessandra.

Another issue to be highlighted in the study is the decrease in the proportion of young people under 20 who earn the minimum wage. In 1992, these workers aged up to 19 constituted 20,3% and, in 2003, the number fell to 12,5%. On the other hand, in the range between 20 and 44 years old, in 1992 it was 63,6% and, in 2003, the number rose to 66,8%. Those employed over 45 years of age accounted for 16,1% in 1992 and, in 2003, they rose to 20,7%. A closer look at the Northeast region shows even more differentiated numbers. There, in 2003, young people aged up to 19 constituted 6,6% of the total number of employed people who earn a minimum wage; between 20 and 44 years old this proportion reaches 76,3%.

According to Alessandra Brito, her research helps to demystify the idea that the minimum wage is generally the remuneration of young people who are not fully inserted into the market, such as interns, trainees or those taking their first job. The vast majority are people of reference in the household and, in addition, the fact that they are between 20 and 44 years old means that this is not the beginning of a professional career. “What is expected is that a person aged between 25 and 30 is already in the market with good salaries”, she argues. The next stage of the work will be to describe the domicile of people who earn the minimum to complete the profile of this category of workers.