After the unemployment rate in the United States fell from 15% to 8% between April and August, it became evident that at the beginning of the crisis the capacity of recovery that the North American country could develop was underestimated and it is expected that this behavior could boost the economic activity in Central America.
During the first half of 2020, when the first cases of covid-19 began to be reported in the region, forecasts noted that the recovery of economic activity would be excessively slow, due to a significant drop in consumption globally.
Faced with the sudden change that the new normal generated in companies, employees are challenged to increase their skills to work remotely, adapt to more flexible contracts and refine their technological skills and cognitive qualities.
Telecommuting has become an everyday occurrence among companies in the region, which have had to adjust to the restrictions imposed by governments due to the outbreak of covid-19.
After the national unemployment rate remained at 7% between 2014 and 2017, it fell by almost 1% to 6.3% in 2018.
The occupancy rate is the ratio of the employed to the total EAP. It represents the degree of effective use of the human resource available for work. By 2018, the occupancy rate is 93.7%, that is, of every 100 economically active persons, 94 were employed, explains the Multipurpose Household Survey.
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 automationjobs. In Costa Rica the proportion is 68%, in Panama and Nicaragua 65%, and in the Dominican Republic 62%.
Between 2016 and 2017, the Metropolitan Area of San Salvador registered a slight increase in the unemployment rate, rising from 6.8% to 7.5%.
According to the Multiple Purpose Household Survey for 2017, the unemployment rate "...By age ranges, unemployment among young people (16 to 24 years old) is 14.4%, among people aged 25 to 59 it is 5.1%, while for those over 59 it is 5.9%."
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.
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.
Figures from the Salvadoran Institute of Social Security indicate that in June 2016 there were 815,617 contributors, while in the same month in 2017, the figure had dropped to 809,832.
"...These figures, according to analysis of the performance of economic activity in the first half of the year, prepared by the Salvadoran Foundation for Economic and Social Development (Fusades), are some of the strongest evidence showing that the country's economy is stagnant.
At the end of last year the unemployment rate stood at 7%, and when analyzed by age range, the rate rises to 14% for the group of young people aged between 14 and 24 years old.
From the Multiple Purpose Household Survey 2016 by the Ministry of Economy:
The unemployment rate, which expresses the proportion of the active economic population that the economic system, in a given period, can not absorb; stood at 7.0% in 2016.
The business sector claims that the adverse environment for doing business in the country is the reason for the loss of almost 12 thousand jobs between December 2016 and January this year.
Companies that hire people aged between 18 and 29 years will be able to deduct from income tax between 3 and 5 minimum wages, depending on the number of young people they hire.
With the amendment to the Incentive Law for the Creation of First Employment for Young People in the Private Sector, adopted by the Assembly, tax exemptions are established for businesses that hire young people aged between 18 and 29.
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.
Recognized Brazilian company of backhoe loaders, telescopic, articulated and other types of cranes looking for companies interested in representing the brand and distributing their machinery in Central America and Mexico. The company manufactures and sells telescopic,...
O4Bi is a system that allows to control and manage what a company needs: the complete process of development of works, accounts receivable, treasury, banks, sales and accounting.
O4Bi is a very robust system that allows to control and...
Operating Company dedicated to the manufacture of gluten-free and sugar-free products, OHNE brand. The OHNE brand has 8 product lines: square bread, sweet...
español
1680