In Costa Rica most college students crave "fixed and stable jobs" in state enterprises.
EDITORIAL
The words "fixed" and "stable" are not exactly what you would expect to hear from young twentysomethings, supposedly eager for challenges, opportunities and adventures.However, in Costa Rica, a survey carried out by Universum indicates that most college students are looking for a job for life in a state institution.
For every ten professionals in demand by private companies in Costa Rica between 2014 and 2016, 7 were computer and software engineers.
The growing demand for professionals in careers related to engineering, especially in the area of computing and software development, contrasts increasingly with the demand for professionals in other disciplines, such as social work, which are losing ground as the use of information technologies advances.
Up to the second quarter the net national labor participation rate stood at 57.2%, registering a decline of nearly 5% compared to the same period in 2015.
From a statement issued by the National Statistics Institute of Costa Rica:
The figures for the second quarter of 2016 reveal a decrease in the net domestic labor participation rate to a record of 57.2% which is a drop of 4.9 pp, resulting from a withdrawal of people from the workforce .
The annual growth rate of output per worker in Panama has tripled compared to that of Costa Rica after the 2008/09 crisis, Guatemala's grew by just 1%, and other countries maintained similar values to 2004.
From the V Report on the State of the Region 2016:
According to estimates based on data from Cepal, productivity per worker in Central America is below the average for Latin America, which in 2010 was $30,000.Panama and Costa Rica are the closest, with levels above $20,000.The other countries are far from reaching the average: in Guatemala and El Salvador GDP per worker is around $8,500 and in Nicaragua and Honduras it is $3,500 and $5,000, respectively (Figure 4.23).
Seven out of ten entrepreneurs in Costa Rica would be willing to implement training programs for young people in the academic-work placement format.
A statement from the Costa Rican Union of Chambers and Associations of Private Enterprises (UCCAEP) notes that"...72% of employers would be interested in launching training programs under the dual mode and 83% said they already have accepted into their businesses students or trainees for internships or professional work experience."
International labor mobility as an important factor in business competitiveness is being obstructed in Costa Rica by the inefficiency of the Department of Immigration.
EDITORIAL
Inefficiency is the right adjective to describe the management of the Department of Immigration and Alien Affairs, where"... there are more than 20,000 cases pending resolution."
Why insist on making students learn French instead of applying the resources invested in teaching this language to other languages that are more in demand by the market such as English, Portuguese, German or Mandarin?
EDITORIAL
The design of school and college curriculums is supposed to be primarily based on the objectives of the political social project being promoted by the government, which should prioritise preparing students for incorporation into the national economy, complemented by cultural elements which should cover the ENTIRE population of the country.
The draft Minimum Living Wage Act under discussion in Costa Rica eliminates the wage adjustment formula agreed in 2011 and could mean a rise of 35% in the minimum wage in the private sector.
From a statement issued by the Costa Rican Union of Chambers and Associations of Private Business Sector (UCCAEP):
Living wage law will cause unemployment and poverty
The Congress of Costa Rica has been inspired by the famous tango Cambalache and now those who "work day and night like an ox are the same as those who live off other people, those who kill are the same as those who cure, or those who live outside the law..."
EDITORIAL
The Costa Rican Legislative Assembly has given final approval to a bill that clears the records of crimes committed by people after they have served their sentences. Until now, criminal records have only been "cleaned" after 10 years have passed since the sentence was carried out.
Costa Rica's lack of actions to address the problems of road infrastructure is beginning to take its toll directly, preventing the development of areas with clear productive vocation.
The very success of an area with comparative advantages for operating free zones, call centers and corporate offices, such as those close to Juan Santamaria International Airport, has become a detonator triggering the paralysis suffered by investments in construction of new buildings, simply because of vehicle congestion in Belen, in the Greater Metropolitan area of Costa Rica, is so bad that it is normal to take up to 50 minutes to travel 4 kilometers from the area in question to the access road to the center of the capital.
The Continuous Employment Survey for the first quarter 2016 sets the net national labor participation at 58.6%, which represents a significant decrease of 3.2 percentage points.
From a statement issued by the National Institute of Statistics and Census (INEC)
In order to protect sources of employment the Panamanian government wants the US to grant permissions so that Waked Group companies can temporarily transact with US citizens and businesses.
From a statement issued by the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF):
Objective is to protect the jobs of Waked companies
Treasury Department has been asked to grant a license.
A study by the Ministry of Labour on the state of the labor market, whose results have been ready since December 2015, has still not been disclosed to the public.
In late 2015 the Ministry of Labour announced that it had finished collecting information for the "National Study of the Labor Market Survey" and that its results would be released soon. However, almost five months later, according to an article on Crhoy.com, the survey data has still not been presented publicly.
Costa Rican industrialists warn that increasing the minimum wage in the private sector by 34% will cause more unemployment and encourage more companies to operate unofficially.
The bill concerning the minimum wage will endanger plans for new hires in the private sector, and its passage into law could cause more informality and more unemployment. The proposal aims to increase the minimum wage by 34% for unskilled employees in the private sector.
In Costa Rica approval has been given to a trust fund through which private companies will be paid $2,700 for each employee hired from the vulnerable population.
The government initiative that aims to pay companies around $2,700 per employee hired from the vulnerable population, has won its first endorsement to be included in a trust administered by Banco Popular.