Circular economy in the Brazilian labour market

Using a methodology developed jointly by Circle Economy, the International Labour Organization (ILO), and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) through their joint initiative, Jobs in the Circular Economy, this analysis maps Brazil’s employment landscape. It shows where circular activities are already established and pinpoints opportunities for further job creation. This approach illustrates how people, skills, and sectors intersect with resource flows, informing more inclusive and future-proof policy decisions. [130] [131]

The methodology used in this analysis provides a data-driven framework, measuring and modelling employment in the circular economy worldwide with harmonised, evidence-based metrics. In terms of how circular employment is captured across economic sectors, circular jobs comprise fully circular sectors (such as repair, waste management, sewerage, material recovery, renting and leasing, urban transit and second-hand retail) and partially circular sectors (such as agriculture, manufacturing, and construction). Jobs in partially circular sectors are estimated through modelling sector-specific circularity coefficients.

This methodology incorporates formal and informal work, addresses data gaps, and excludes sectors like (renewable) energy production and waste disposal (such as incineration and landfills) that are outside the scope of the circular economy. Indirect or induced jobs created as a by-product of enabling the circular economy are not accounted for.

Circular employment across sectors

Provisioning systems used to understand materials flows by societal need, provide a framework for linking and comparing material flows and carbon footprints, enabling a cross-cutting analysis of their interconnections. In contrast, analysing circular jobs by ISIC classification offers a more granular analysis of circular employment, shedding light on their specific dynamics, including informality and inclusion aspects. ISIC sectors refer to the International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities (ISIC), a system developed by the United Nations to classify economic activities in a standardised way across countries.

Brazil’s most labour-intensive sectors remain largely rooted in linear economic models. The top five employing sectors—wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles; manufacturing; agriculture; construction; and human health and social work—account for over half of the country’s employment, as illustrated by Figure 17. Circular activity within these sectors is marginal but varied.

While renewable energy employment is not directly captured in this circular jobs analysis, it is nonetheless a vital pillar of the circular economy transition. In 2021, Brazil was the second-largest global employer in the renewable energy sector, with over 1.27 million jobs. [152] The country led globally in liquid biofuels employment and ranked fifth in wind power. [153] These jobs—often involved in technologies such as wind turbines, biomass conversion, and solar energy—are crucial enablers of low-carbon, resource-efficient systems. [154]

A notable number of sectors—especially in services—currently report zero circular employment under the methodology applied. This is in part due to methodological considerations, but also highlights both data gaps and the untapped potential for circular transformation across Brazil’s economy.