Panama Now has a Total of 2 Million and 45 Thousand Employed after Generating 77,231 New Jobs.
President José Raúl Mulino Quintero announced the creation of at least 77,200 new jobs and a reduction in the unemployment rate to 8.5%, according to figures from the National Institute of Statistics and Census (INEC). “I want to announce that with great effort and dedication, 77,200 new jobs have been created, and we have managed to lower unemployment to 8.5%, a substantial decrease compared to last year,” stated the president, who hailed the metrics as extraordinary news for the nation, the result of a well-managed economy that has regained national and international confidence.
The Minister of Labor and Workforce Development, Jackeline Muñoz pictured above, specified that the employed population in Panama totals 2,045,000 people, of which 77,231 correspond to positions created during this period. “More than 77,000 new jobs created, a significant number, all in the private sector,” she emphasized. The minister detailed that the most dynamic sectors were commerce, agriculture, banking, services, and agribusiness, the latter showing the most notable rebound after the decline of the previous cycle. She also highlighted that, for the first time in 12 years, private sector job creation surpassed that of the public sector.
Muñoz above explained that this progress is a response to the administrative reorganization and the guarantee of social peace and job stability, under the “More Territory, More Jobs” strategy, aimed at extending its impact to the provinces. “For two years we have been humanizing the job search process, understanding that we were experiencing an unemployment rate increase of approximately 2%, which translates into hundreds of thousands of Panamanian families in need,” he noted.
The President pictured above, said regarding job opportunities, the head of the Executive Branch announced the launch of paid training programs in partnership with the National Institute for Professional Training and Human Development (INADEH) and the Panama Tourism Authority (ATP) for the tourism industry. In addition, 4,800 scholarships in artificial intelligence and cybersecurity are available through the “Talent Up” program, developed in conjunction with Google and accessible free of charge on the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) platform. “It took two years, but here are the results, and they are the beginning of many more,” Mulino noted.
The Minister of Labor Jackeline Muñoz pictured above shaking hands, detailed that among the current initiatives are “My First Job,” which has placed 4,278 young people; “My First Job in Agriculture,” with over 2,000 participants; the recently implemented Internship Law; “Talents Without Barriers Classroom,” which has placed more than 800 people with disabilities; and the programs “Working Women,” “Panama Moving Forward,” and “Women’s Empowerment,” in conjunction with the Panamanian Autonomous Cooperative Institute (IPACOOP). In addition to these initiatives, more than 400 targeted recruitment events have been held nationwide to connect qualified candidates with available job openings.
