Even with the unemployment rate at a historic low, skills shortages are the 4th biggest obstacle in the sector and put pressure on productivity
Brazilian industry faces a lack of qualified workers, according to a technical note released this Monday (9.Feb.2026) by the (National Confederation of Industry). Here is it (PDF – 1 MB).
The problem intensified after the Covid pandemic and today ranks as the 4th biggest obstacle to the sector, behind the high tax burden, high interest rates and insufficient domestic demand.
The diagnosis indicates that the shortage of trained professionals limits productivity gains, reduces companies’ competitiveness and imposes additional training costs at a time of accelerated technological transformation.
Data from the (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics) show that the unemployment rate in the quarter ending in December 2024 was 5.1%, the lowest since the beginning of the historical series, in 2012.
Despite this, the labor market remains marked by high informality: 38% of employed people have no registration or social protection.
A CNI Industrial Survey survey shows that the lack of qualified workers ranked last among 17 problems monitored by the sector from 2015 to 2020, with around 5% of mentions. After the pandemic, concern grew steadily and reached 23% in 2024.
The highest level was recorded in the 2nd quarter of 2025, when 23.3% of companies cited labor shortages as a relevant obstacle. In the most recent survey, the item appears in 4th place in the overall ranking.
Impact on small businesses
Among small companies, the impact is more intense. The lack of qualified professionals affects 28.4% of establishments of this size and ranks 2nd in the ranking, behind the high tax burden.
“Without qualified workers, companies have difficulty increasing productivity, which affects efficiency and waste reduction. When they try to train, they face gaps in educational training, which make learning difficult and discourage workers”says the director of Economics at CNI, Mário Sérgio Telles.
According to the entity, the industry has increased investments in training, but is faced with the low quality of basic education and the need for constant requalification.
O prepared by the CNI, estimates that 3 in every 5 workers in the sector will need to undergo training by 2027 to meet new production demands.
