Considering the huge changes witnessed in the economy and in the labor market in Brazil in the 2000s, this paper analyzes the relationship between the occupational structure and the income distribution in this country. First, the paper analyzes in what extent the predominance of low-wage, unskilled occupations contributes to the high level of socioeconomic exclusion and inequality in Brazil. Analyses also consider how changes in the composition and in the average income of the main occupational groups have contributed to increase total income and reduce inequality in Brazil. In general, results show the importance of the occupational structure as an instrument to analyze socioeconomic differences in Brazil.
Occupational structure; occupations; labor market; inequality
