The main challenges of the region’s labour market involve generating more and better jobs for younger generations, address the growth of informal labour, and reduce gender gaps.

This was one of the topics discussed during the 19^th American Regional Meeting of the International Labour Organization (ILO) developed in Panama on October 2^nd to 5^th.

Guy Ryder, ILO General Director, said that there is great uncertainty in the region regarding labour markets, considering the economic slowdown of 2014 which was followed by a recession that has led to a slow recovery with a major impact on employment.

 “In 2014 there was the lowest average unemployment rate registered by ILO (6.1%), while in 2017 it grew to 8.1%, the highest of the decade, and during the first semester of 2018 it has already climbed to 8.8%. Even though a couple of months ago we expected this trend to decrease, it now seems a rather unlikely scenery”, said Ryder.

The scourge of informality is another major challenge, as the average rate is 53%, which depicts the sad reality of a larger number of people working in the informal market instead of the formal.

This means that around 140 million people in Latin America and the Caribbean lack protection in terms of social security, pension, and labour rights, and many of them are exposed to unsafe working conditions, irregular income, and long working days. Around 55% do not contribute to any social security system.

Women are most affected by informality and unemployment. During the first semester of the year, female unemployment rate was 11%, compared to the 7.8% male unemployment rate.

“Even though female participation rate went from 49.8% in 2017 to over 50% in 2018, female unemployment remains 1.4 times higher than male unemployment; this is a major challenge in terms of labour for the region, which also involves a significant pay gap and conditions that set women in a disadvantageous position”, said Ryder.

It is a cultural factor that has to be changed. The remaining trend is that household chores and caring for the elder and children are female responsibilities. Women develop up to 73.5% of non-paid work. This means they use 2.8 times more hours than men to take care of family members and develop house chores, and this gap grows even bigger when small children are involved.

The impact has been that female contribution to paid work is only 34.1% of the total time they spend working, as many of them are forced to work under informal conditions or part-time.

Another major challenge the region must face is improving the access to employment for younger generations, as 40% of unemployed people are young. In addition, 60% get a job in the informal economy. The solution to this problem should be linked to improving workers training, as 1 out of 3 employers say they cannot find proper staff.

“We must work hard to improve the education system, shifting to mechanisms that provide young people with experiences to test their skills in the labour market”.

Key initiatives include promoting better economic growth rates, generating employment opportunities, macroeconomic policies that generate employment, particularly for young people, and special programs to improve their situation.

Source: Estrategias y Negocios