Q COSTA RICA – Statistics from the Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censo (INEC) – National Institute of Statistics and Census – show that the number of individuals who are not able to work due to age, disability, family or personal commitments, illness or seasonal factors has risen by approximately 50,000 this year.
In January, there were 1,688,642 people in this category, while in May the figure had increased to 1,738,112.
Furthermore, more than 16,000 people in Costa Rica have become ‘discouraged’ and have given up searching for work.
Adults favored over young people
According to data from INEC for the March-May quarter, 78,000 youth and young adults who were employed in the October-December 2022 quarter are now out of the labor force, making them the age group most affected by job losses.
In total, 95,000 people of productive age (15-59 years) left the labor force and the age group of 25 and 34 years is the one that reports the most people.
The departure of young people is a bad omen for a critical situation, youth unemployment in Costa Rica is the highest in Latin America, according to data from the International Labor Organization (ILO), and the second highest among those of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Economic Development (OECD).
The ILO highlighted Costa Rica among nine countries in the region for being the only one that favors adults over young people in the recovery of employment, and the lag is greater among women.
Among the people of productive age who left the labor market, 55,000 are women compared to 30,000 who are men. Young women are the most affected.
The OECD pointed out to Costa Rica that in order to face this problem and incorporate women into work, care services must be expanded since 90% of women in households in poverty do not work because they have minors or dependents. at your expense.
Although women work more hours than men, when unpaid tasks are included, they suffer more from unemployment, work more hours in underemployment and in informal employment. More than a million women are out of the labor force, nearly twice as many as men.
