By International Labour Organization

Five years after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the labour market outlook for Latin America and the Caribbean in 2024 shows relative stability in its main labour market indicators. In line with the moderate pace of economic growth, the employment rate increased slightly in 2024 compared with the previous year. Labour supply, as measured by the participation rate – the percentage of people of working age who are working or looking for a job – remained relatively stable, although it is still below the level of 2019. As a result of the slight increase in employment and the stability of the participation rate, the regional unemployment rate continued to fall in 2024. However, from a longer-term perspective, the region has not made significant progress in employment for a decade, with neither the participation rate nor the employment rate significantly above 2012 levels. In terms of job quality, progress has also been made in the areas of informality and real wages, but this has been slight and insufficient to close the region’s historic decent work gaps. Moreover, significant disparities remain between countries, and the gaps between men and women and between young people and adults remain a persistent challenge Slowdown in regional economic growth. The region’s economy has maintained its recovery path, albeit at an increasingly slower pace. The annual growth rate of the global economy is estimated at 3.2
per cent in 2024. According to the IMF and ECLAC, Latin America and the Caribbean as a whole grew at a slower VV The region’s economy has maintained its recovery path, albeit at an increasingly slower pace.
rate than the world average: 2.1 per cent and 2.2 percent respectively. Inflation in the region, although higher than before the pandemic, has been brought under control and continues to fall. If the above economic growth rates are confirmed, the region would have grown at an average annual rate of 1
per cent between 2015 and 2024, implying stagnation in GDP per capita during this period (ECLAC 2024) and growth levels well below the average rate of around 3 per cent per year observed between 1990 and 2010.
Labour market dynamics: relative stability but persistent challenges.

Get the report here