RIO DE JANEIRO, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- Unemployed and underemployed workers in Brazil amount to 26.4 million people, the country's statistics agency IBGE said on Friday.

The level of under-utilization of the country's workforce reached 23.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2017, a slight improvement from the 23.9 percent registered in the third quarter, but more than the 22.2 percent registered in 2016.

IBGE considers as "under-utilized" the 12.3 million unemployed who are actively searching for a job, as well as 6.5 million people who are working part-time but are seeking full-time employment, and the 7.3 million people who are able to work but have stopped searching.

According to IBGE's coordinator of work and income, Cimar Azeredo, under-utilized workers often present similar characteristics, such as being young and from ethnic minorities. Women also make up over half of under-utilized workers.

"Young people face difficulties to enter the job market due to a lack of experience and qualifications. That will also make up for a larger contingent of the black and brown population, who have even more difficulties to enter the job market," he said.

According to IBGE, 54.2 percent of under-utilized workers are women, 55.8 percent are black or brown, and 26.5 percent are aged 18 to 24. The lack of schooling also makes a significant difference: 39.1 percent of the under-utilized workforce did not finish high school.?