Two thousand public works have generated 60 thousand jobs in the DF since 2019

The capital of all Brazilians is also the capital of development and work. Since 2019, two thousand public works completed in the four corners of the Federal District have generated around 60 thousand jobs, contributing to the strengthening of an economy that did not collapse due to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

By investing in administrative regions, the Government of the Federal District (GDF) contributes to a winning cycle in partnership with the private sector. The more health, education, security and mobility infrastructure, the more companies from different sectors feel willing to invest resources in cities and hire professionals. In the business environment, this is known as a win-win.

On this May 1st, Labor Day, Governor Ibaneis Rocha praised the people who love, work and generate jobs and income in the Federal District. “We have made a huge investment in recent years to generate jobs and income. We have improved the whole issue of taxation, we are bringing in new companies, investing in public works, 2,000 public works have already been delivered in these five years of government. We are focused on improving employment and income for our population”, highlighted the governor of DF.

Since 2019, the GDF has invested R$4,170,437,334.97 in public works. They range from viaducts to basic health units, including cycle paths, sidewalks, restoration of irrigation channels, drainage, requalification of urban avenues and many other public facilities.

The largest contributions and quantities of works are in mobility (629), infrastructure and urbanization (538), social (518), culture, sport and leisure (248), health (59), education (51) and security (14).

“This is a historic moment of a government that did its homework. He was austere, he sorted out the accounts, tried to organize the projects and got his own resources and financing to carry out this revolution that is happening in Brasília. All the management that was carried out in order to settle accounts, to improve the DF’s payment capacity, to listen and identify what the government’s priorities were in the area of ​​infrastructure is portrayed in these two thousand works”, states the Government Secretary, José Humberto Pires de Araújo.

A job that allowed GDF to make so many deliveries, the two thousandth being the Itapoã/Paranoá viaduct, the main component of the East Road Complex. The highway connects DF-250 to DF-015, connecting the two administrative regions, and significantly contributes to faster movement for more than 60 thousand people daily. More than R$95 million was invested in the entire complex, including the duplication of DF-250 and the paving of DF-456.

Constructions such as the Itapoã viaduct, seven emergency care units (UPAs), 13 daycare centers and the Taguatinga Tunnel contributed to the generation of 60 thousand direct, indirect and income-effect jobs.

Direct jobs are those of professionals hired directly to work on the project; while indirect are those from service providers who will work on a project, for example, supplying concrete. The income effect has an effect further along this productive employment chain. An example of this was the replacement of the pavement on the Via Estrutural, where the community develops, facilitates the movement of the population and cargo, reduces transport time and this also generates employment and development.

GDF delivered seven UPAs to reinforce health care in administrative regions | Photo: Archive/Agência Brasília

“All of this is a herculean effort by the entire government team to bring citizens the best so they can enjoy this moment that we are also enjoying, which is the feeling that we are doing the right thing so that citizens are increasingly better served ”, adds José Humberto Pires de Araújo.

Better business environment

Not being the only factor, but quite important, the generation of jobs associated with the works contributed to the DF reducing the number of unemployed people from 308 thousand in January 2019 to 267 thousand in March 2024 according to data from the Institute of Research and Federal District Statistics (IPEDF). This is linked, of course, to other factors in the economic scenario. Improvements in business and taxation conditions and qualification programs were also fundamental.

Since 2021, the GDF has trained 83,700 people with just the three main programs of the Secretariat for Economic Development, Labor and Income (Sedet): RenovaDF, Qualifica DF and Qualifica DF Móvel. A fundamental force during and after the covid-19 pandemic, giving thousands of people the opportunity to obtain a new qualification or improve their knowledge.

“We can see a very close relationship between the high level of informality and low professional qualifications from the moment young people leave high school, with the highest number of unemployed people in the Federal District. Informality is due to a lack of qualifications and people seek informal alternatives to enter the job market. When the government runs a large professional qualification program, people tend to be good employees and fill the vacancies offered and also raise the issue of entrepreneurship”, details the head of Sedet, Thales Mendes. “The higher the level of professional qualification of the population, especially the unemployed, there is a decrease in informality in the DF”, he adds.

Along with training, the GDF also provides a better scenario for entrepreneurs. Through the Prospera program, it is estimated that more than 10 thousand jobs have been created. Aimed at urban and rural micro-entrepreneurs, individual micro-entrepreneurs, artisans, self-employed service providers, among others, Prospera is a credit program in which amounts are released progressively, in order to avoid default and guarantee credit renewal for the client. In Prospera’s balance sheets, 70% of supported enterprises reported an increase in revenue and profitability, proving their success.

On other fronts, Sedet also works on Desenvolvimento DF, which replaced the old Pró-DF, in which entrepreneurs receive a discount on the acquisition of land to develop their business and the more jobs are created, the less they pay for the land. Emprega-DF offers tax benefits of up to 67% in ICMS for participants.

In addition to this, the GDF also created programs such as Pró-Economia I and II, granting benefits to various sectors, such as tax reduction and exemption and various ICMS agreements, and also three editions of the Tax Regularization Incentive Program of the Federal District (Refis). With the 2023 edition alone, R$946 million in debts renegotiated with the GDF were recorded and a record participation of 78 thousand taxpayers, including individuals and legal entities.

This entire environment, combined with efforts from other areas, helps to explain how the GDF managed, in five years, to reach the mark of two thousand projects delivered and with many others in progress.