Abstract
While low pay is prevalent in developing countries, the issue has not been studied in depth. To help fill this gap, the authors use panel data on six Brazilian metropolitan areas for the years 2002–09 to investigate the incidence, permanence and profile of low-paid employment. Over the period, low-paid work declined from 24.4 to 21.5 per cent of total wage employment. As in high-income countries, the probability of being low-paid was greater for women, non-whites, younger workers and those with fewer years of education. A mobility analysis shows that job experience improved labour market prospects, even for low-paid wage earners.