No menu items!

COSTA RICA'S LEADING ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER

HomeTopicsBusinessCosta Rica has the second highest unemployment rate in Latin America, according...

Costa Rica has the second highest unemployment rate in Latin America, according to the UN

A report released by the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) said Costa Rica had the second highest unemployment rate in the region.

Only Colombia with an unemployment rate of 10.6 percent surpassed Costa Rica’s 8.3 percent, according to the report dated December 2013.

And looks like the kick off of tourist season won’t be much help. Some 70 percent of tourism business owners surveyed by the National Tourism Chamber said they would not hire new workers this season.

Costa Rica ended the third quarter of 2013 with an unemployment rate of 8.9, according to figures published by the National Statistics and Census Institute (INEC). The country’s unemployment rate has fallen from a recent peak at 10.9 in 2011 to 8.9 in the third quarter of 2013, but still remains above its neighbors, according to the ECLAC report. 

The report said the rise in unemployment rolls was consistent with a “cooling economy,” especially in manufacturing and construction sectors.

Low high school graduation rates for Ticos between 17 and 21 have kept many from taking advantage of the better, higher paying jobs in technology and the service industry created in recent years, according to the fourth State of Education report released in September 2013.

ECLAC predicts Costa Rica’s GDP will grow 4 percent in 2014, lower than Nicaragua (5 percent) and Panama, the regional leader at 7 percent. That’s just below average for the region.

Central America and the Dominican Republic’s economies are estimated to grow at an average of 4.5 in 2014. 

 

Trending Now

President Chaves Downplays Costa Rica’s Security Crisis Amid Record Homicides

President Rodrigo Chaves brushed off concerns about Costa Rica's surging violence during his Wednesday press conference, insisting the security situation "is not as serious"...

Nicaragua Hosts Historic 2025 AmeriCup Basketball Tournament

The 2025 AmeriCup, the men’s basketball Copa América, tips off this Friday in Nicaragua, marking the most significant international sporting event in the country’s...

Major Cocaine Seizure in Costa Rica’s South Highlights Ongoing Cartel Fight

Costa Rican police pulled off a big win against drug traffickers this Sunday, seizing over a ton of cocaine hidden in a tourism minibus...

Guatemala Prisons Erupt in Violence With Guards and Workers Taken Hostage

Gang members rioted this Friday in two prisons in Guatemala and took several guards and civilian employees hostage, a week after uprisings in which...

Earthquake Shakes Costa Rica’s Central Valley

An earthquake shook Costa Rica early Friday morning. The tremor occurred at 12:45 a.m. with a magnitude of 4.4. Its epicenter was located 1...

Costa Rica’s Role in US Deportation Drama with Salvadoran Migrant

A Salvadoran man at the center of a heated US immigration battle could end up in Costa Rica if he accepts a guilty plea,...
spot_img
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Travel Insurance
Costa Rica Rocking Chait
Costa Rica Travel

Latest News from Costa Rica