This paper analyzes health labor market in comparison with Brazilian labor market in general. It first presents a theoretical study on the subject, to support debate. The characteristics of the labor market in general are discussed, in an effort to evince if the current stage of lack of structuring measures and of regulation can, in part, be reflected on the configuration of the health sector. It evinces a migratory movement of public jobs from the federal sphere to the municipal one, and shows that, in the 1990's, the health public sector made use of more flexible modalities to recruit health professionals.
labor market; health labor market; human resources in health