QCOSTARICA – Nine out of ten companies do not plan to lay off staff in the remainder of the year, according to the most recent “Pulso Empresarial” (Business Pulse) 2022 survey, carried out by the Unión Costarricense de Cámaras y Asociaciones del Sector Empresarial Privado (UCCAEP) – Costa Rican Chambers and Associations of the Private Business Sector.
The survey shows that the perception and confidence of businessmen remains optimistic. The main demand to reactivate the economy in the short term, according to businessmen, is to increase productive credit options as a measure to boost the reactivation of job creation.
Other measures that businessmen consider as priorities to reactivate economic activity are the reduction of interest rates, the simplification of procedures, the flexibility of working hours and the temporary exemption of social charges for micro and small companies.
As relevant data in terms of the Labor Market, there is the fact that 42% of those surveyed assure that the occupational category that is most difficult for them to obtain is “technicians”.
Almost half (45%) of the surveyed indicated that they require at least a Bachelor’s Degree in Secondary Education as a requirement to work in the companies they represent. This is up from 36% in 2017, which shows an important change in the Costa Rican labor market
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“It is important to highlight that the confidence index calculated by the survey remains above the level of 5, this shows that businessmen expect a better third quarter in 2022 in relation to 2021.
“In terms of employment, as we have stated in the past, the survey shows important changes in the labor market. The human talent that companies require today is of higher levels of qualification, which is why it is essential to advance in educational reforms and programs that encourage the study of STEM careers,” assured José Álvaro Jenkins, President of UCCAEP.
In labor matters, it was highlighted that 91% of the employers consulted do not plan to make layoffs in the remainder of the year, while 18% of the companies plan to hire in the coming months.
The survey was conducted with 386 business owners, between July 26 and August 12. It has a confidence level of 95% and a statistical margin of error of 5.6%.
