The problem is that 50% of the employed work informally, 40% receive less than the minimum wage and 1 out of every 5 is in poverty.

According to ECLAC data, the COVID-19 pandemic triggered the greatest crisis experienced by Latin American and Caribbean labor markets since 1950.

In 2020, job creation fell 8.2%, being the only drop recorded in the last 70 years and, between 2014 and 2023, the growth rate of the number of employed will be only 1.26%, compared to 3.2% in the lost decade of 1980.

In addition, different barriers to entry into the labor market persist in the region: one out of every two women remains outside the labor market, the labor participation of young people is substantially lower than that of adults, and that of indigenous women is considerably lower than that of men and non-indigenous women, to name a few examples.

This is in addition to the fact that labor markets are experiencing a period of high uncertainty, as highlighted during the event, since technological changes are generating a dynamic of transformation, destruction and creation of jobs.

According to ECLAC data, 28.4% of occupations are at high risk of automation in the region.

Translated by: A.M