RIO DE JANEIRO, May 29 (Xinhua) -- Brazil's jobless rate reached 12.9 percent in the quarter ending in April 2018, up from 12.2 percent in the quarter ending in January, the country's official statistics agency IBGE announced Tuesday.

The IBGE said 13.4 million people were out of work in the February-April period, 5.7 percentage points higher than in the previous quarter, but down by 4.5 percent year on year.

The employed population reached 90.7 million in the February-April period, 1.1 percentage points lower than the previous three-month period and up by 1.7 percent year on year.

Though the employed population increased slightly year on year, the number of workers with formal employment contracts did not increase, namely increased employment in the past year was informal or self-employed jobs.

During the February-April period, workers without formal employment contracts reached 10.9 million, up by 6.3 percent year on year while self-employed workers were 23 million, up by 3.4 percent year on year.

Average monthly earnings were 2,182 reais (about 583 U.S. dollars) in the quarter ending in April 2018, down by 0.2 percent from the previous quarter and up by 0.8 percent year on year.

Brazil is recovering from its worst recession ever, which saw the economy shrink in 2015 and 2016, with the gross domestic product falling 7 percent.

In 2017, Brazil's economy grew one percent, and this year's forecast called for 3 percent growth, but high unemployment and lower domestic spending have curtailed expansion.