Brazil's average unemployment rate fell to 11.9 percent in 2019, below 2018's 12.3 percent, the Brazilian state-run statistics agency Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) said Friday.

According to the IBGE report, it was the third consecutive year with a drop in unemployment.

In the last quarter of 2019, unemployment fell to 11 percent, the lowest quarterly rate since the first quarter of 2016 (10.9 percent).

Employees with formal contracts rose 1.1 percent between 2018 and 2019, thanks to the creation of 356,000 new jobs.

Additionally, average worker income rose to 2,330 reais (around 544 U.S. dollars) last year, a 0.4 percent increase from 2018.