In Costa Rica, employees under the age of 21 show the highest rates of turnover because of resignation, with 31%, higher than the general average turnover, which is 23%.
The data from the survey Business System Salary Information PricewaterhouseCoopers Costa Rica (PwC), specify that in the country the turnover of workers who began to work in 2018, was 33%.
From January to March of this year, the unemployment rate stood at 11.3%, unchanged from the same period in 2018, and registering a slight reduction of less than 1% with respect to the fourth quarter of last year.
In this first quarter of 2019, 276,000 people were unemployed, and 47,000 more actively sought employment and did not find it compared to the first quarter of 2018.
In Costa Rica, businessmen expect job creation to stagnate this year, as only a thousand new jobs are expected to be created, resulting in a year-on-year increase of just 0.7%.
The forecasts of the Chamber of Industries of Costa Rica (ICRC) for this one are the result of the study that the sector carries out every year, which concludes that in the most positive scenario, the performance of production, employment and investment, would be similar to that of 2018.
Informality, access to social services and lifelong learning are some of the aspects on which the region's economies must focus in order to improve labor market conditions.
Representatives of the International Labor Organization (ILO) presented in San José, Costa Rica, the report "Working for a brighter future", prepared by the World Commission on the Future of Work, which describes the factors that affect work in the countries of the region.
For the second quarter of 2019, 12% of companies in Costa Rica expect to increase their payrolls, as reported during the first three months of the year.
ManpowerGroup reported that Costa Rican employers report moderate hiring intentions for the second quarter of 2019. 12% of employers expect an increase in their workforce, 6% anticipate a decrease and 81% remain unchanged, resulting in a Net Employment Trend of +6%.
In Costa Rica, businessmen and authorities signed a protocol defining concrete actions to implement and promote dual education in the country.
The protocol enables concrete actions to be formalized for the implementation and promotion of Presential-Dual Training among companies associated with the Chamber of Industries of Costa Rica (CICR) and other organizations, as well as to increase training opportunities and job opportunities for social mobility, informed the industrial sector guild.
Despite the location and the fiscal benefits that in some cases the countries of the region offer, the lack of education of the population will be the main barrier to continue attracting large investments.
The lack of guarantee of finding the competent and sustainable human capital necessary for the proper operation of companies is an issue that negatively influences the attraction of important investments in Central America.
The greater interest in studying social sciences and the lesser inclination for training in technical or scientific areas may be partly because of the preference of professionals for employment in a government institution rather than in the private sector.
According to data from the National Council of Rectors (Conare), between 2006 and 2016, in Costa Rica the careers in the area of Social Sciences registered the highest growth according to the proportion of graduates, going from 36.2% to 45.5% of the total number of students.
From April to December 2018, the unemployment rate recorded a clear upward trend, rising from 8.7% to 10.2% between the second and third quarters and rising to 12% at the end of the year.
The National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INEC) reports that for the fourth quarter of 2018, unemployment increased by 89 thousand people year-on-year, since it was estimated at 294 thousand people, of whom 148 thousand were men and 146 thousand women.
The determination of how much and how the minimum wage should be regulated, something that occasionally seems to be done in an arbitrary manner and for political purposes, continues to be one of the factors that most confront Central American businessmen and governments.
In Costa Rica, a 3% increase in the minimum wage was approved for 2019; in El Salvador, an increase is expected to be discussed, and in Guatemala, the commission in charge of the issue reported that no increases will be made this year.
In 2018, nearly 13,000 new jobs were generated in Costa Rica because of investment in 48 new projects in the service, manufacturing and other productive sectors.
The Costa Rican Coalition of Development Initiatives (CINDE) reported that because of new companies arrived in the country together with investments made by companies already installed, 12,961 new jobs were generated in the sectors of services, digital technologies, life sciences, advanced manufacturing and light manufacturing.
In the Central American region, the average unemployment rate for those aged between 15 and 24 is estimated to be around 11%, with lack of work experience being the main barrier to accessing the first job.
According to figures from the Central American Observatory of Social Development, Costa Rica and Panama are the countries in the region with the highest rates of youth unemployment, with 27% and 15%, respectively.
For the first quarter of 2019, 12% of companies in Costa Rica expect to increase their payrolls, a figure that exceeds the 10% reported for the fourth quarter of 2018.
ManpowerGroup reported that Costa Rican employers report moderate hiring plans for the following quarter. The 12% of employers expect an increase in their workforce, 6% expect a decrease and 76% remain unchanged, resulting in a Net Employment Trend of +6%.
Although new jobs will emerge, technological changes will have a strong impact in the Central American region, where there is a high proportion of jobs with a high risk of automation.
According to forecasts made by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), in 2018 it was estimated that 75% of workers in Guatemala and El Salvador are in high-risk automation jobs.
In Costa Rica, the business sector is optimistic about the positive opinion given about the dual education law initiative by the Congress commission in charge of the issue.
On November 15th, the Commission of Science, Technology and Education in the Congress approved the Dual Education Law, which has as one of its main objectives to incorporate students into the labor market.