Positions and segments of social classes in the Metropolitan Region of Natal in the 1990s

Abstract The 1990s, seen as the second lost decade, presented low dynamics of production and of the labor market in Brazil and in the Metropolitan Region of Natal (Northeastern Brazil). In this article, we consider that the labor market shows that the social classes are becoming increasingly segmented. Following this perspective, the article was based on Santos (2002) to study the segmentation of the labor market as a proxy for positions and segments of social classes in the analyzed reality. The hypothesis that guides the article is that possession of material assets, as well as qualification and command positions, are crucial to take on better positions in the structure of classes from the distribution standpoint. The analysis of the empirical data allows to increase the level of trust in the formulated hypothesis.