Formal employment and turnover in the agricultural labor market in Northeastern Brazil in 2000-2001 and 2009-2010

Authors

  • Luís Abel da Silva Filho Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte
  • Jorge Luiz Mariano da Silva Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte
  • Silvana Nunes de Queiroz Universidade Regional do Cariri - URCA/ Universidade Estadual de Campinas - UNICAMP

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4013/pe.2014.101.04

Abstract

The transformations in the Brazilian agricultural production rebounded sharply on labor relations in this sector. The expansion of agricultural activity, followed by the enthronement of technology, had profound consequences for the rural labor market in Brazil. This article aims to analyze the socioeconomic profile and especially the turnover of employees in the agricultural segment of the Brazilian Northeast, a region with significant records of temporary crops, which in recent years has adopted technological innovation in the field. The years 2000 and 2010 were chosen for the analysis of socioeconomic characteristics of agricultural workers in the Northeast, and the 2000-2001 and 2009-2010 biennium to measure the turnover rate. The data are from the Annual Social Information Report (RAIS) and the General Register of Employed and Unemployed Persons (CAGED), of the Ministry of Labor and Employment (MTE). To reach the proposed goals, as a method of analysis, we initially make a brief literature review on the dynamics of the Brazilian labor market, with emphasis on the analysis of the northeastern agricultural labor market. On the basis of descriptive statistics, we analyze the socioeconomic profile of employees in the sector in question. Additionally, we calculate admission and dismissal rates, the rate of net job creation, as well as the turnover in agricultural and farming jobs. The empirical evidence reveals structural changes in the industry: on the one hand, there is an absolute increase in the number of formally hired workers between 2000 and 2010 and, on the other, an increase in the number of workers in the lower income brackets. The turnover rate also increased between the first and the last period analyzed. This indicator shows that especially women, youth and less educated and low-paid persons are those who remain less time employed in the agricultural sector. It is found that turnover/instability in the agricultural market in the Northeast rose over the first decade of the 2000s. This performance can be attributed both to seasonality and to the strong tendency of creation and destruction of jobs after the opening of the Brazilian economy.

Keywords: formal agricultural work, turnover, Northeast of Brazil.

Author Biography

Luís Abel da Silva Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte

Professor do Departamento de Economia da Universidade Regional do Cariri - URCA e Coordenador Adjunto do Curso de Especialização gratuita em Desenvolvimento Regional. Graduado em Ciências Econômicas pela Universidade Regional do Cariri - URCA e em Letras pela Universidade Estadual do Piauí - UESPI. Possui Especialização em Ensino da Língua Portuguesa pela URCA e em Gestão em Educação pela Faculdade Leão Sampaio. É Mestre em Economia pela Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte - UFRN, e também pesquisador do Observatório das Metrópoles, Linha II, Núcleo da UFRN. Desenvolve pesquisas em Economia do Trabalho, Economia Regional, Agrícola e Economia do Setor Público

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Published

2014-09-25

Issue

Vol. 10 No. 1 (2014): Jan-Jun

Section

Articles

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