Responses to recession and restructuring : employment trends in the São Paulo metropolitan region, 1979 - 87

It is often argued that during recession women and children are put into the labour market in order to obtain household incomes. They are forced into low-paid jobs in the informal sector. Evidence from Sao Paulo suggests a different picture. During recession young people withdrew from the labour market. Adult female participation rates did increase, but more slowly than the long-term trend. Women's entry into the labour market during recession was not accompanied by a deterioration in employment conditions or a widening of male and female wage differentials. (DSE/DÜI)