MEXICO CITY - The urban unemployment rate in Latin America and the Caribbean fell to 6.4 per cent in 2012 and is expected to continue its downward trend to drop to 6.2 per cent in 2013, according to the International Labour Organization’s Panorama Laboral.
The level is the lowest since the annual statistics were first compiled in the early 1990s.
The unemployment rate in the region, which was at 11 per cent in 2002, has kept dropping for a decade, except at the height of the global crisis in 2009.
The drop in unemployment rates came amid continued economic growth, which averaged 3.1 per cent, with 3.8 per cent forecast in 2013 in Latin America and the Caribbean.
“The drop in unemployment opens a window of opportunity; this is the moment to tackle the challenges of quality of jobs,” said ILO Regional Director Elizabeth Tinoco.
About half the workers in the region are in the informal sector, which generally means low wages, minimal job security , little social security coverage and non-respect of labour rights, she said.
For more information please contact Luis Córdova, cordova@oit.org.pe, +51 989301243
Panorama Laboral 2012
Print
Email