Santo Domingo – The Central Bank presented an analysis of the evolution of the main indicators related to the labor market up to the latest available data corresponding to the January-March 2022 quarter.
Open unemployment rate (%) 2021/2022
1/Preliminary figures.
Source: Continuous National Survey of the Labor Force, Central Bank of the DR
When analyzing the indicators of underutilization of the labor force, it is observed that the unemployment rate, that is, the first indicator of underutilization (SU1), commonly known as the open unemployment rate or the percentage of unemployed who are actively looking for work, was located at 6.4 % in January-March 2022 for a reduction of 1.6 percentage points with respect to the level of 8.0% registered in the same period of the previous year.
The survey of the Continuous National Survey of the Workforce (ENCFT) corresponding to the period January-March 2022, showed that the total number of employed persons reached 4,640,113 workers in the first quarter of the year, a level close to the total employment observed prior to the pandemic, for an increase of 226,730 net employed persons compared to the January-March 2021 quarter, equivalent to a growth of 5.1%.
Total employed in the labor market January-March 2019-2022
It should be noted that the generation of new jobs has been concentrated in women and young people, who were the most affected by the pandemic.
In year-on-year terms, 73.2% (165,950) of the aforementioned increase in employment corresponds to females.
Likewise, the fact that of the increase of 226,730 net employed persons in twelve months, 68,848 (30.4%) corresponds to people aged between 15-24 years and 146,605 (64.7%) to new net employed persons within the age range of 25-39 years old.
Consonant with the above, a growing behavior of the degree of insertion of people over 15 years of age in the labor market is observed.
Which, according to the institution, can be seen through the global participation rate (TGP), defined as the ratio between the labor force or economically active population and people of working age.
Similarly, the employment rate (TO), which represents the percentage of people of working age who are employed, stood at 59.4% in January-March 2022, for a year-on-year increase of 2.6 percentage points.
Both indicators reflect that the labor market continues to recover, after the impact of the health crisis.
When analyzing the increase of 226,730 employed from the perspective of the sector where they work, during the last year it is observed that those who work in the formal sector (private companies with National Taxpayers Registry, organized accounting or in the State) increased by 105,913 additional net jobs, while those working in the informal sector (mostly own-account workers) exhibited an increase of 131,045 workers. As for those employed in domestic service, they were reduced by 10,228 jobs.
DR CENTRAL BANK
Regarding the percentage of total informality in the economy, that is, the proportion of employed persons who do not have access to social security benefits through their occupation, it is pertinent to review what is stated by the International Labor Organization (ILO) in the document Perspectives Social and Employment in the World: Trends 2022 in the sense that “Informal workers were more likely to lose their jobs or be forced into inactivity by measures such as lockdowns than formal workers. As economic activity gradually resumed, informal employment, especially self-employment, has rebounded strongly, with many informal sector workers returning to work”, a reality that has been more evident in the region of Latin America and the Caribbean.
In the Dominican case, the percentage of informality (workers who are generating income but who do not have access to social security through the work activity they perform) was 58.1% in January-March 2022, for a slight increase. significant 0.4 percentage points compared to the same period last year, being below the maximum value of 58.9% recorded by this indicator in the third quarter of 2021.
Finally, when making a balance in the analysis of the indicators, it can be concluded that the labor market presents a notable improvement and it is expected that it will continue to react positively, as the economy continues to grow around its potential and the various projects are executed. both private and public investment, which have been announced thanks to the climate of confidence and the favorable prospects of the Dominican Republic compared to the average of Latin American countries.
