Résumé en anglais

The main purpose of this paper is to present an analysis of formal employment generated in Brazil from 2003 to 2006. It develops a discussion about the labor market performance during the 90’s, when strong changes in Brazilian economy occurred. Then the generation of new jobs is analyzed in the 27 states as well as in 137 Brazilian sub-regions. It is proposed an index which ranks regions according to the quality of employment locally generated. Our results show that most registered employment occurs in the neighborhood of main state capitals, especially in the case of trade and services. Industry on the contrary is moving toward the interior of the country, confirming results already verified since the 90s. Industry movements however are directed to the more developed states, mainly in the south and southeast regions. It is also possible to verify a positive correlation between employment quantity and employment quality, which means that regions with larger labor markets usually generate employments of better quality.