PEA - Economically Active Population - it is a concept developed to designate the population that is inserted in the labor market or that, in a certain way, is trying to be inserted in it to exercise some kind of paid activity.
There is no consolidated method around the world to define those who are part of the PEA. For example, in underdeveloped countries, the index includes individuals who have between 10 and 60 years, in developed countries generally only those who have more than 15 years of age.
Thus, the part of the population that is unemployed and does not look for jobs, such as children under 10, students who do not work, housewives who perform only unpaid domestic functions, among others, is included in what is called per Economically Inactive Population.
In Brazil, according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), the Brazilian PEA comprises 63.05% of the population, although this number does not include those who do not work with a formal contract or portfolio signed. Also according to the IBGE, of the total active population in Brazil, just over 20% are in the primary sector, 21% in the secondary sector; and 59% in the tertiary sector.
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This means that most of the employed population in Brazil is linked to the tertiary sector, triggering the process of economic outsourcing. This process occurs thanks to the intense mechanization of the field and industry (primary and secondary sectors, respectively), a phenomenon responsible for the replacement of man by machine. Thus, most of the population finds employment only in the service and commerce sector. The EAP of developed countries, such as the United States, is already 70% concentrated in the tertiary sector.
By Rodolfo Alves Pena
Graduated in Geography
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
PENA, Rodolfo F. Alves. "Economically Active Population – PEA"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/geografia/populacao-economicamente-ativa-pea.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.
