EMPLOYMENT AND EARNINGS INEQUALITY IN BRAZIL: AN ANALYSIS FROM THE OCCUPATIONS STRUCTURE

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to discuss employment and earnings inequality among the occupations, also seeking to identify differences between men and women in employment structure. Considering the restructuring in the National Survey of Households (PNAD) in 2002 of the Brazilian Classification of Occupations (CBO), information from this year is compared to 2012. The employment changed between occupations, especially on one side, to the growth of those employed in science and arts and on the other hand, to the fall in employment of agricultural workers. In the individual analysis of each determinant, the survey results suggest a lower inequality as a whole and the part explained by the occupation, which has established itself as a major determinant of income inequality in Brazil. Women have the lowest income and level of inequality, and between occupations there are greater differences between them. Finally, it was established that the fall in yield spreads between occupations was due to improvement in other determinants, such as greater homogeneity in the human capital of individuals, who were more qualified, and the falls of differentials, inter-sector and between men and women.