Salaries Decline in Construction Sector with Drop of Up to 29% in a Decade in Brazil

Written by Romário Pereira de Carvalho

Published on 28/05/2025 at 06:33

Imagem: Fernando Frazão/Agência Brasil

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Construction Wages Drop by Up to 29% in a Decade, with Infrastructure Leading the Losses and Direct Impact on the Overall Average

The average income of construction workers in Brazil fell by 22% over the past ten years, according to the Annual Construction Industry Survey (Paic), released by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). In 2014, the average wages were 2.7 minimum wages. By 2023, this value dropped to 2.1 minimum wages.

The biggest decline occurred in the infrastructure segment, which includes highways, railways, basic sanitation, and energy. In 2014, this group paid an average of 3.7 minimum wages per worker — the highest value in the historical series that began in 2007.

In 2023, the average fell to 2.6 minimum wages, a loss of 1.1 minimum wages, representing a reduction of 29%.

ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW

Reduction in the Number of Jobs

In addition to the wage drop, the sector also lost jobs. In 2023, there were 2.5 million jobs in the construction sector, a reduction of 15% compared to 2014.

Despite this, the numbers show a recovery compared to 2020, a year marked by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, there has been a growth of 25% in the total number of workers.

Among the segments, only specialized services managed to grow compared to 2014, with a 4% increase in the number of jobs. In contrast, building construction and infrastructure works experienced declines of 29% and 20%, respectively.

Revenue and Regional Distribution

The total amount generated by the 165.8 thousand companies in the construction sector reached R$ 484.2 billion in 2023. Residential constructions accounted for 22% of this value. Meanwhile, specialized services and infrastructure works — such as highways and railways — each accounted for about 20%.

The Southeast and Northeast regions led the market, with shares of 49.8% and 18.1% of the national total, respectively. However, both lost ground compared to 2014.

The South Region experienced the most significant growth in participation, rising from 12.8% to 16.2%. The Central-West saw a slight increase, from 9.3% to 9.4%.

With information from Primeira Página.

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Salaries Decline in Construction Sector with Drop of Up to 29% in a Decade in Brazil

Construction Wages Drop by Up to 29% in a Decade, with Infrastructure Leading the Losses and Direct Impact on the Overall Average

Reduction in the Number of Jobs

Revenue and Regional Distribution

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Salaries Decline in Construction Sector with Drop of Up to 29% in a Decade in Brazil

Construction Wages Drop by Up to 29% in a Decade, with Infrastructure Leading the Losses and Direct Impact on the Overall Average

Reduction in the Number of Jobs

Revenue and Regional Distribution

Libya built over 4,000 kilometers of underground pipelines to bring water from the Sahara to coastal cities in a project that the government itself called the Eighth Wonder of the World.

Desert sand, previously discarded for being too smooth for concrete, becomes an ecological brick in the United Arab Emirates, dispensing with Portland cement, curing at room temperature, and attempting to transform dunes useless for construction into raw material for a new arid engineering.

Chinese woman planted trees for decades while sand buried part of her house, received $5,000 from an American in 1999, and helped transform the desert into a forest of 8 million trees in China.

Almost 6,000 residents live concentrated along a single street nearly 9 km long in the interior of Poland. Houses form a continuous row, and behind them, narrow agricultural strips emerge, creating one of the most unusual rural patterns in Europe.

Described by astronauts as one of the most unlikely natural phenomena on Earth, the Okavango Delta spreads over up to 15,000 square kilometers in the middle of the desert and transforms Botswana into a living labyrinth of channels, islands, and flooded areas.

Scientists have created a material six times lighter than air, 75 times lighter than styrofoam, and that becomes stronger the more it is compressed: aerographite seems impossible, but it can reinforce structures, batteries, and satellites.

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