Panama bucks recession  with increased hiring prospects

Despite the international recession, employers in Panama reported a “solid hiring pace” for the first quarter of 2023, especially in sectors that demand more education, according to the ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey, published Monday.

58% of the surveyed employers expect to increase their workforce, 13% expect to decrease, 25% do not expect changes and 4% do not know.

The survey sample included more than 200 employers throughout the national territory.

The net employment expectation is +39%, which represents an increase of one percentage point compared to the previous quarter, and of four percentage points according to the annual comparison.

“Our results showed a favorable outlook for Panama in the first quarter of 2023. Although the world is experiencing a recession, the country will maintain a robust economy. In addition, the demand for qualified talent persists in the country despite the global difficulties”, commented the regional manager of Manpower Group for the Caribbean and Central America, Andrés Soto.

Sectors
The life sciences and health sectors reported the strongest job demand nationally (60%), followed by Communication Services (57%) and Information Technology (IT) (53%). The Manpower report confirms the trend of post-pandemic salaried employment, as well as the increasingly evident relationship between education and job quality,” said the labor and business expert, René Quevedo, noting that the greatest hiring expectations are in health, communication, and information technologies, sectors that require more than 14 years of average schooling. According to the National Institute of Statistics and Census (Inec) (October 2021 – April 2022), 85% of new formal jobs require 13 or more years of schooling.