The unemployment rate in Brazil rose to 8.2 percent in January, according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics' (IBGE) Monthly Employment Study, released on Friday.

It was the highest unemployment rate in the country since last April.The rate in December was 6.8 percent, and 8.0 percent for the same period last year.

The study analyzed job market conditions in six major metro areas in Brazil: Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Belo Horizonte, in the southeastern region; Salvador and Recife, in the northeastern region; and Porto Alegre, in the southern region.

The most significant increase in the unemployment rate, 2.3 percentage points, was registered in the Sao Paulo metro area, the largest in the country. In Salvador, the rate increased 1.3 percentage points in January.

According to the study, Brazil's unemployed population reached 1.9 million in January, up 20.6 percent from December.