A 200,000-Worker Shortage in Five Years: Brazil’s Tech Labour Crisis

Between 2019 and 2024, companies in Brazil posted roughly 665,000 technology roles but the market delivered only about 464,000 qualified professionals—a deficit of 201,000 people, or 30.2%, according to a study by the Inteli institute and consultancy WKS shared exclusively with g1. The shortage is not just a niche headache; the tech sector now accounts for 6.5% of the country’s GDP and virtually every industry—banks, retailers, hospitals, manufacturers and agribusiness—competes for the same talent to drive digital transformation.

The pressure is geographic as well as numeric. Lucas Niemeyer, Inteli’s research coordinator, notes that opportunities are heavily concentrated in the Southeast, especially São Paulo, creating an additional mismatch that strains companies and limits career mobility for professionals elsewhere.

To understand what this means for pay and career paths, the researchers analysed 72,700 job advertisements published between April and June 2025, narrowing the set to 19,655 strictly tech vacancies. The picture they found defies some popular assumptions. Although 79% of professionals surveyed see artificial intelligence as the most relevant field today, the majority of actual openings remain in the foundational areas that keep businesses running: software development and infrastructure account for nearly six in ten tech vacancies nationwide.

Salary Hotspots, the AI Paradox and What Employers Actually Pay For

The Highest-Paying Roles: Leadership, Security and AI

The fiercest competition for talent pushes salaries highest in management and leadership roles, followed by cybersecurity and artificial intelligence specialists. While C-level and director positions naturally top the pay scale, the study stresses that a purely technical career track can also deliver high remuneration without the need to climb a traditional corporate ladder—a trend reinforced by flatter organisational structures and the premium placed on deep technical expertise.

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Why AI Jobs Are Still a Minority of Openings

The mismatch between the hype around AI and the hiring reality stems from the low digital maturity of most Brazilian companies. Niemeyer estimates that around 80% of small and medium-sized enterprises operate with very basic technology. These firms still need help with infrastructure, systems integration and support—roles that far outnumber cutting-edge AI positions. For the foreseeable future, the bulk of job creation will be in those more traditional functions, even as AI-related skills command a wage premium.

English and Certifications: The Salary Multipliers

Only 7.5% of vacancies with disclosed salaries explicitly demand English, but those that do pay significantly better: 46.2% of English-required roles offer between R$5,000 and R$10,000 monthly, compared with just 22.3% of non-English positions. Demand for the language also rises with seniority—8.7% of mid-to-senior openings ask for English versus 6.6% of junior ones. Separately, 48% of hiring managers said they are willing to pay more for candidates holding certifications or specialised knowledge, particularly in cloud computing, information security, data engineering and AI.

What Employers Actually Want: Technical and Soft Skills

The most in-demand technical skills—programming, databases, cloud platforms and cybersecurity fundamentals—form a common base across specialisms. But employers increasingly value professionals who blend technical ability with business acumen, continuous learning and strong communication. The research confirms that the most sought-after candidate is not a pure coder, but someone who can connect technology to real business outcomes and work across teams.

How to Position Yourself in Brazil’s Tech Talent Rush

  • Target development and infrastructure roles for job volume. Nearly 60% of openings are in these areas, making them the safest entry points and the core of most companies’ current needs.
  • Add English to your profile. It is required in a small fraction of ads but doubles your chances of reaching the R$5,000–R$10,000 salary band and becomes more important as you advance.
  • Pick certifications with a clear salary boost. Hiring managers explicitly reward certifications in cloud, security, data engineering and AI—invest in those that align with the roles you’re targeting.
  • Combine technical depth with communication and business vision. Companies are screening for soft skills that let you translate tech into value; pure technical proficiency is no longer enough.
  • Don’t abandon AI—but don’t expect it to dominate the job board yet. AI knowledge raises your earnings potential and will matter more over time, but today’s hiring volume is overwhelmingly in systems that run day-to-day operations.