The unemployed population with respect to the labor force increased 1.2%, going from 9.1% in the first quarter of 2017, to 10.3% in the first quarter of 2018.
- The employment rate was 51.8%, while in the same period last year it was 54%.
- The unemployment rate increased with respect to the same period last year, in this quarter it was 10.3%, the previous year it was 9.1%.
At the end of the fourth quarter of 2017, the unemployment rate remained unchanged compared to the same period in the previous year, at 9.3% and the percentage of employed persons with informal employment was 41%.
The National Institute of Statistics and Census (INEC) reported that underemployment presented a decrease in this fourth quarter of 2017, registering a level of 8%, while in the same period of 2016 the figure reached 9%.
Citizens are less than two months away from going to a ballotage to elect a new government without having discussed the country's priority issues, even though some of them require urgent attention and a deep national discussion in order to find a solution.
For the first quarter of 2018, 24% of companies in Costa Rica expect to increase their payrolls, 71% do not foresee changes and 4% anticipate a reduction.
From the ManpowerGroup report:
Comparative by Region Employers of the six regions foresee an increase in their workforce for the following quarter.The strongest hiring plans are reported in Heredia, where employers report a Net Employment Outlook of + 22%.
In Costa Rica a law iniatiative pretends to force companies to have 25% of their workforce composed by young people aged between 17 and 24 years old.
EDITORIAL
The problem of unemployment that affects thousands of young people in Costa Rica and the Central American countries will not be solved simply by forcing private companies to hire a certain proportion of young employees, regardless of their qualifications and skills, or even worse, without considering whether there is an actual need for hiring or not.
The higher the percentage of wages paid by employers, the less formal employment will be generated, particularly affecting unemployed young people and distorting the economy by rewarding informality.
This is notorious in Costa Rica, where despite sustained growth of the economy in recent years, unemployment remains at around 10% of the economically active population, and informality represents around 40% of employment.
At the end of the second quarter the employed population increased by 125 thousand people, but the number of unemployed people remained unchanged compared to the same period in 2016.
From the Continuous Employment Survey, II quarter, by the INEC:
The employed population grew by 125 thousand people compared to the second quarter of 2016, and the employment rate also increased, by 2.5 percentage points (pp), reaching a figure of 54.3%.
The working-age population has increased, offsetting an increase in the employed population, with the national employment rate remaining at 54% and the unemployment rate at 9.1%.
From a statement issued by the National Institute of Statistics and Census (INEC)
The National Institute of Statistics and Census today released results of the Continuous Employment Survey (ECE) for the first quarter of 2017, the data shows that the national employed population is estimated at 2.06 million, which entails a statistically significant change to the year on year level for this quarter, as there was an increase of 68 thousand employed people in relation to the same period (January-March) of the previous year.
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).
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 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.