Although it is a basic element of a region’s economic and social growth, an analysis of the job market in the Legal Amazon is largely missing from the academic discourse. This is an unjustifiable absence, since entry into the job market is a key part of anchoring proposals for economic growth that generate more employment and income and reduce inequality. There is evidence that deforestation and forest degradation have not contributed to creating positive employment and income conditions in the region. Indeed, there are significant gaps in the Amazon compared to the rest of the country.
This study is part of the Amazon 2030 project and attempts to fill the void by providing an unprecedented assessment of the job market in the Legal Amazon between 2012 and 2020. To that end, it offers an analysis of various indicators in the working world and how they have changed in recent years, including as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic.
Based on data from the National Household Sample Survey (Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicílios – PNAD Contínua), a project of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística – IBGE), this study aims to bring visibility to the people of the Legal Amazon, who until very recently were not suitably represented in official statistics. When the study was launched in 2012, it was a considerable step forward for scholars
in the field, because it allowed the inclusion of more households in the rural north due to the uniformity of the sample, and also made it possible for a monitoring panel to follow individuals over time. This is a valuable untapped resource for understanding the challenges the region faces.
