Five years after the COVID-19 pandemic devastated Latin America and the Caribbean, employment rates have improved. However, the quality of jobs remains a major concern, with a significant portion of the workforce still engaged in informal and precarious employment, according to the International Labour Organization (ILO).
The ILO’s 2024 Labour Overview for Latin America and the Caribbean, launched online on Wednesday, provides a detailed analysis of employment trends, highlighting persistent challenges such as job informality, gender disparities, and youth unemployment.
“Five years after the COVID-19 pandemic, Latin America and the Caribbean have been able to have relative stability labour indicators, and it is a decisive moment to consolidate its recovery and promote the creation of more and better jobs, however, we continue to face big structural challenges,” offered Ana Virginia Moreira, regional director of the ILO for Latin America and the Caribbean.
“While the employment rates increased somewhat in 2024 compared to the previous year and the unemployment rate went down to 6.1 per cent, while labour activity rates are stable, they are still under 2014 levels, which means that job creation continues to be insufficient.”
Moreira continued, “We are close to being in the same numbers as a decade ago … Even though there is some progress, the main barriers continue to exist, and those are informalities that affect pretty much half the workers in the region. This translates into precarious work, unstable income, and without access to social security benefits.”
Gender inequality persists, with women’s labour force participation still 22 percentage points lower than men’s. Additionally, women earn, on average, 20 per cent less than their male counterparts.
Moreira highlighted the unequal burden of unpaid domestic and care work as a key factor limiting women’s access to quality employment.
Youth unemployment remains a pressing issue, with rates three times higher than those of adults, currently standing at 13.8 per cent.
CALL FOR POLICY ACTION
To address these structural challenges, Moreira urged regional governments to implement policies promoting formal employment.
“Countries in the region must adopt policies to promote labour formalisation, this is a key aspect to improve job quality. This should include tri-partied social dialogue that is efficient that can take us forward to a just labour market,” she stated.
The report also noted macroeconomic trends, including a slowdown in inflation in several Caribbean nations. In Jamaica, remittances continue to play a significant role in the economy, contributing approximately 20 per cent of GDP.
Interestingly, Jamaica, along with Argentina, Bolivia, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, and Uruguay, has shown a greater or equal employment rate in 2024 compared to 2019, with women experiencing slightly better job growth than men.
Despite some progress, the ILO warns that unless urgent measures are taken to improve job quality, millions in the region will remain vulnerable to economic instability.
