Antioquia closed 2024 with more than 3.3 million employed people, which represents an annual growth of 2.5% in the regional labor market. However, the most recent edition of the Employment Table Report – a Alliance between Comfama, Comfenalco Antioquia, the Medellín Chamber of Commerce and the Public Value Center of the Eafit University, With the support of Antioquia how we go – it makes it clear that the advances do not hide the persistent challenges.
This week the most recent edition of the report was known, which stresses that, although Medellín and the Aburrá valley concentrate more than 2.1 million jobs and record improvements in the quality of income, there are still important gaps to close. In particular, difficulties are concentrated in the generation of formal employment for women, youth and rural areas, as well as in the high informality of microenterprises.
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One of the main focus of concern is the slowdown in female employment, a point where they say that between 2021 and 2024, the number of occupied women grew a solid 31%; However, in the last year the rhythm fell dramatically to just 1.7%. This suggests that post-pandemic recovery initially benefited women, But now it stagnates, which could aggravate structural inequalities if it is not corrected.
In the case of young people under 28, the panorama is also worrying and shows that between the first quarter of 2023 and the first quarter of 2025, the number of young people affiliated with family compensation boxes decreased by 21,200 people, which translates into a 4.6%reduction.
Analysts reiterate that there are various fronts that require structural attention.
Courtesy – API
This fall contrasts with the general growth of affiliations (+0.8%) In the same period, which shows a loss of dynamism in the formalization of youth employment and according to analysts, it makes clear what fronts that require urgent attention by regional authorities are.
The report also warns about the high sector concentration of formal employment, since 55% of dependent workers affiliated with compensation boxes are located in only five sectors, which are trade, manufacturing industry, administrative services, construction and professional services and generates a limited diversification that implies a risk to sectoral clashes or structural changes.
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An example of these imbalances is observed in the opposite behavior of two key sectors, since while accommodation and food services grew 6.2% in number of formal workers, construction lost 3.9%. This fall directly impacts one of the sectors that traditionally uses male population and of lower educational levels, and questions its capacity for reactivation in the short term.
Another key challenge is the persistence of informality in rural areas, line of the labor market in which work predominates and with low levels of social protection, in contrast to the metropolitan area, where formal employment has greater weight. This duality reflects that the Antioquia labor market needs differentiated policies that recognize the territorial and productive contexts of each subregion.
Analysts reiterate that there are various fronts that require structural attention.
Courtesy – API
“The data, by themselves, do not transform reality. But when we understand them, We share them with those who make decisions and act with purpose, we can change lives. It is a call to advance together, with focus and commitment, without leaving anyone behind, ”said Javier Ricardo Torres Betancour, director of Comfenalco Antioquia.
Moderate income
The quality of income also worries and according to the report, although the average salary of dependent workers in Antioquia was $ 1,765,626, exceeding 10.3% to the national average, most of the new jobs are in sections of up to two minimum wages. In addition, microenterprises, responsible for 56% of total employment, continue to concentrate most of informality.
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Mónica Ospina, director of Antioquia how we are going, stressed that “designing differentiated policies is not only desirable, but essential to guarantee inclusion and equity”given the diversity of work challenges faced by the different sub -regions of the department.
Thus, the report concludes that the formalization, the improvement of income and reduction of gaps by gender, age and territory must be the focus of the next public policies and business strategies if you want to build a more fair, resilient and sustainable labor market in Antioquia.
Daniel Hernández Naranjo
Portfolio journalist
