The New Caged shows that Brazil closed 2025 with a positive net of about 1.28 million formal jobs, with Services leading job creation. The sector-by-sector, state, hiring salary, and turnover picture helps to understand where there are more opportunities in 2026 and which skills are likely to yield higher employability.
New Caged 2025: the real map of opportunities for your career in 2026
If you’re planning a career change, trying to grow within your current company, or looking for a formal job, there’s a more objective starting point than social media “hunches”: the data from New Caged. The official survey on hires and dismissals in the formal market shows where employment is recovering, which sectors are absorbing more people, which states opened more vacancies, and what the recent pattern of hiring salary is. In 2025, Brazil ended the year with a positive balance of approximately 1.28 million formal jobs, even with the typical seasonal decline in December.
The message is clear: the country generated formal jobs across all federative units throughout the year and in all major economic activity groups. For those considering a career, this matters because it helps answer three practical questions: where to seek opportunities, which sector to bet on, and how to prepare to increase chances of hiring and salary progression.
What is New Caged and why it’s useful for career planning
New Caged tracks monthly movements in formal employment, recording hires and dismissals. For career planning, it functions as a thermometer of the “real world” of formal employment. When a sector leads job creation for consecutive months, it usually translates into more recruitment processes, greater mobility chances, and higher tolerance from companies towards transitioning profiles, provided the candidate demonstrates alignment with the demanded functions and skills.
At the same time, when a specific month shows a decline, as often happens in December, the interpretation must consider seasonality. For professionals, this avoids bad decisions, such as interpreting a month of contraction as a permanent trend. The annual data and sectoral distribution provide a much more faithful picture of market movement.
The numbers that define 2025 and shape 2026
Brazil closed 2025 with a positive balance of 1,279,498 formal jobs. The total stock of CLT employment bonds rose to about 48.47 million, a growth of 2.71% over the year. In simple terms: it ended the year with more people formally employed than at the start, and the level of formal employment reached the highest stock since the beginning of the recent series used by the program.
This kind of information changes how you choose opportunities. In an expanding market, companies tend to compete more for labor in certain areas, accelerate hiring, and open vacancies that wouldn’t exist in a stagnant scenario. Conversely, growth doesn’t happen equally across all sectors and states. That’s where New Caged becomes a strategic tool.
Services drive the country and set the hiring pace
The main engine of formal job creation in 2025 was the Services sector, with a positive balance of 758,355 vacancies. Within Services, the biggest advances were concentrated in activities related to information and communication, as well as in financial, real estate, professional, and administrative segments. Another significant share came from public administration, education, health, and social services.
For your career, this points to two directions. The first is that services continue to be the “big umbrella” of opportunities in Brazil, encompassing everything from technical and corporate roles to operational areas. The second is that there are sub-areas with strong traction, especially those requiring digital skills, organization, customer service, processes, operations, data, and compliance.
Commerce returns to the game and opens space for quick reemployment
Commerce recorded a positive balance of 247,097 vacancies in 2025. The sector is often an entry point for those seeking quicker reemployment, especially in customer service, sales, retail logistics, store operations, and also in commercial back-office roles.
To improve your chances in Commerce, the competitive advantage is rarely just “being communicative.” In 2026, space favors those who combine customer service with the use of tools, goals, and routines: CRM, stock control, simple indicators, cash organization, and basic marketing knowledge. If you’re transitioning from another area, this sector can serve as a bridge, provided you treat employment as a building step rather than an inevitable destination.
Industry, Construction, and Agriculture: opportunities with a more specific profile
Industry created 144,319 formal jobs during the year. Highlights include food manufacturing and activities related to maintenance, repair, and installation of machinery and equipment. For technical careers, these details are valuable: maintenance and installation tend to require qualifications, safety protocols, reading procedures, and often certifications.
Construction generated 87,878 vacancies, showing appetite for on-site labor but also for support, planning, and control roles. Those who organize to occupy more competitive positions in construction usually invest in reading blueprints, measurements, planning, safety, and mastering construction routines.
Agriculture closed 2025 with a positive balance of 41,870 formal jobs. The agro sector may have higher seasonality and regional or crop-specific variations. Still, for careers related to the countryside and agro-industry, skills like machinery operation, maintenance, logistics, and quality control can be relevant differentiators.
Which states led and what this means for career mobility
Among the states, São Paulo stood out with about 311,228 jobs created during the year. Next came Rio de Janeiro with 100,920 and Bahia with 94,380. At the same time, when analyzing proportionally, states like Amapá, Paraíba, and Piauí show high rates of formal employment growth.
For professionals, this opens a strategic reasoning: the state with the highest absolute creation isn’t necessarily the best for you, because it might have more intense competition and a higher cost of living. Regions with strong proportional growth can offer opportunities with less saturation, especially in local services, construction, commerce, and regional supply chains.
How to use state data without falling into traps
- Compare sector and state together: a state can grow driven by public services and health, another by commerce and logistics, another by construction.
- Consider cost of living and support network: career mobility works best when your financial plan is realistic.
- Look at the type of vacancy: some regions have more entry-level vacancies; others focus on specialized roles.
December’s negative trend doesn’t cancel out the year: what seasonality teaches about careers
December recorded a negative balance of approximately 618,164 vacancies. This is described as a historically common seasonal behavior in the formal market, associated with the end of temporary contracts, workforce adjustments, and the conclusion of projects and budgets. In December, the decline appeared across all major groups, with the greatest impact in services, industry, and construction.
For career planning, the pragmatic lesson is: some months are more favorable for hiring, while others see recruitment slowdowns or pauses. This doesn’t mean “there’s no job,” but professionals need to plan their search and qualification calendar. Generally, those who prepare at the end of the year and start the first quarter with an updated resume and portfolio tend to better capitalize on market reopening.
Hiring salary and turnover: what these indicators reveal about your negotiation
New Caged also provides data on average real starting salary. In December 2025, the value was R$ 2,303.78, with a slight decrease compared to November but growth when compared to December of the previous year after seasonal adjustments. This suggests two relevant points for career: first, there’s a reference base to understand the average entry pattern; second, short-term movements can oscillate, so negotiations should consider your sector, region, seniority, and not just the overall average.
Another important data point is turnover, which increased from about 32.79% in 2024 to 33.64% in 2025, considering methodology that adjusts for dismissals and excludes specific events like retirements and voluntary layoffs. High turnover often indicates frequent changes, rehirings, and entry/exit movements. For careers, this has two interpretations: there may be more vacancies due to higher replacement needs, but there could also be more instability in certain segments.
How to turn turnover into a personal advantage
- Build a “plug-and-play” profile: those who master standard tools and processes integrate faster into new teams.
- Have measurable deliveries: clear results reduce the risk of dismissal during adjustment periods.
- Learn to position yourself: in sectors with high turnover, reputation and networking matter more.
What the 2025 portrait suggests for the most promising careers in 2026
When Services lead, it doesn’t just mean “more vacancies in services.” It indicates that occupations related to operations, customer service, management, education, health, technology, communication, and corporate support are growing. In 2026, many will seek jobs with more stability and also roles with a growth trajectory. The good news is that in Services, there are structured careers with clear progression, but this requires preparation.
Three pathways emerge strongly when looking at the sectors and sub-areas that drove hiring:
- Operational pathway with growth: customer service, operations, logistics, and administrative routines with progression to coordination.
- Technical pathway: maintenance, installation, quality, safety, processes, and industrial areas.
- Applied digital pathway: roles combining business with tools, such as basic data analysis, CRM, simple automation, support, and communication.
Skills that most increase your employability, even without a new diploma
Not everyone can pursue a new undergraduate or postgraduate degree from scratch. But almost everyone can boost employability with practical skills. For 2026, especially in Services and Commerce, five groups of skills tend to make a difference:
- Productivity tools: spreadsheets, presentations, and routine organization.
- Methodical customer service: recording, follow-up, standardization, and reducing rework.
- Reading indicators: goals, conversion rates, response times, simple costs, and quality.
- Professional communication: clear writing, short reports, and team alignment.
- Continuous learning: short, applicable courses with real work delivery.
How to use New Caged to decide your next career move
If you want to turn public data into an action plan, use a simple method:
Step 1: choose a sector with traction that matches your profile
If you need quick reemployment, Commerce and parts of Services might be better options. If you want a technical career with entry barriers and salary progression, Industry and maintenance can be paths. If you prefer projects and mobility, Construction can open doors. If you have ties to rural areas and supply chains, agriculture might be an option.
Step 2: filter by state and city with real opportunities
States with a large volume of vacancies tend to have more open doors but also more competition. States with high proportional growth can offer good chances, especially for those willing to enter smaller companies and grow quickly.
Step 3: assemble an application package aligned with the sector
A generic resume loses to a sector-oriented one. A customer service professional showing results and tools used has a better chance. A technician with certifications and safety knowledge gains advantage. An administrative candidate organizing processes and measuring deliveries tends to stand out.
Step 4: plan your negotiation based on reference and differential
Use the average starting salary as a reference, but negotiate based on your differential. If you bring tools, experience in similar routines, and the ability to meet targets, your value isn’t just the average — it’s the impact you can make.
Editorial perspective of Times Qwerty
The portrait of New Caged in 2025 shows a vibrant formal market, with growth across the country, but also with high turnover and a strong weight of Services. For careers, this means opportunities are present, but they favor those who treat employability as a project: learn quickly, master simple tools, deliver results, and choose sectors with solid growth.
Times Qwerty understands that 2026 is likely to reward professionals who use data to decide. Instead of chasing the trendy job, it’s better to map where vacancies are born, which areas absorb more people, and how to build a profile aligned with what the market is truly hiring for. The New Caged isn’t a crystal ball, but it’s a map. And in careers, having a map is almost always more valuable than rushing.
Sources cited: Ministry of Labor and Employment, Social Communication Secretariat, Gov Agency, IBGE.