Brasília, January 8, 2004 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - Data presented by the International Labor Organization (ILO), in the 2003 Labor Panorama, show that over 55 million Brazilians, that is, the majority of the economically active population (PEA), face problems of social exclusion.

According to the study, blacks and women have difficulties finding places in the job market and obtaining adequate conditions of remuneration and social protection, when compared with white males. 55% of Brazilian women participate in the job market, above the 45% average for Latin America.

The unemployment rate varied between 6% and 9% between 1992 and 2001 for all age brackets and educational levels. However, the unemployment rate for women and blacks was 50% greater than for white males in 1992 and 58% greater in 2001.

The study also reveals differences in the distribution of men and women and white and blacks in the formal and informal sectors of the economy. According to the research, the criteria of selection taken into account in job contracts are racial, ethnic, and gender characteristics, instead of level of schooling or talent. This discrimination drives the excluded population into the informal market.

In 2001, while the percentage of men engaged in the informal sector corresponded to 51%, among women the level was 7.2% greater. The data also reveal that one in every three Brazilian women is not paid or performs domestic tasks. In the case of domestic workers, only one in every four has signed working papers.

Among blacks, the unemployment rate reached 10.6% in 2001, exceeding that of whites by 2.5%. In the case of black women, 13.8% were unemployed in 2001. Among black women, 23.9% work in domestic service, and 41.9% exercise activities without remuneration.

With regard to those in the population with higher education, the labor market tends to place greater value on men than to women, with the exception of "typically female" jobs, such as elementary school teachers and nurses.

The ILO data were obtained from the IBGE's National Residential Sample Survey (PNAD). (DAS)