Employment in the metropolitan areas of São Paulo State: Returning to work in the years 2000

Abstract

In a context of favorable changes of the Brazilian labor market beginning in 2003 and 2004, when an increase in formal labor contracts and a reduction of income inequality were recorded, this paper focuses on the careers of a group of employees dismissed at the beginning of the decade in the metropolitan areas of São Paulo State: São Paulo Metropolitan Area (RMSP), Campinas Metropolitan Area (RMC) and Santos Metropolitan Area (RMBS). Special att ention is paid to the study of the employment dynamics in these areas, affected by macroeconomic events and changes in the labor market in the 2000s. After reviewing the literature on industrial decentralization of São Paulo State, the article addresses the employment patt erns of those leaving the formal labor market at the beginning of the century, including their possible return. It discusses longitudinal evidence on timing, place, sector and earnings of those coming back to the formal labor market. The data comes from the Brazilian Labor Ministry data bank – RaisMigra Painel – for the years from 1999 until 2009. This exploratory paper off ers an example of the quality and quantity of information provided by longitudinal data and their contribution to labor market studies, including how and when unemployed workers can have new job opportunities.

Keywords: labor market, employment mobility, metropolitan areas.