Employment Situation in Latin America and the Caribbean: Towards the creation of better jobs in the post-pandemic era

Abstract

In 2022, the main labour indicators for the region —participation rate, unemployment rate, employment rate and number of employed— recovered and returned to 2019 levels. Employment policies that, since 2020, were aimed at job creation in general shifted in 2021 to target the segments hardest-hit by the pandemic, further boosting the recovery in employment in the economy as a whole and among young people and women in particular.

A return to pre-pandemic levels is not enough. High levels of informal employment and wide gender gaps persist, and wages and productivity have returned to pre-pandemic trends, indicating stagnation at best. The region should therefore pursue public policies that are pro-investment, pro-innovation and increase productivity and macrofinancial stability. This must be complemented by active labour policies for greater job creation and more equitable and formal labour markets.