Panama’s labor crisis – over 100,000 seeking work

Panama is facing a historic labor crisis,  with over 100,000 people looking for a job and as employment consultant René Quevedo points out. “All the employment expansion in the last two years has been in the public sector. The economy is not generating new jobs.”

The rating agency Fitch Ratings warned in its latest report of the weakness of domestic demand and cited two sectors in particular: construction and retail trade, which represent 27% of the country’s jobs.

This largely reflects the difficult situation of thousands of people to get a formal and full-time job.

Data from the Comptroller General indicates that as of October 2021 there were 108,975 people looking for work. Of this total, 57,791 were women and 51,184 were men. The vast majority are between the ages of 20 and 24.

Between 2019 and 2021, 238,000 private formal jobs were lost (including the 30,000 workers who were reactivated and then laid off), while 71,000 civil servants were added. In January, 463,000 people received the so-called Vale Digital subsidy to buy food.