While most Costa Rican employers do not intend to expand their worker pool within the next quarter, a third are looking to increase their numbers, according to a nationwide survey released last week by the Manpower consulting agency.
Manufacturing jobs are expected to increase at the highest rate, while the agriculture, fishing and mining sectors will see the smallest growth, the survey said.
The human resources consulting group surveyed 625 employers throughout Costa Rica about their hiring plans for July through September. Among those responding, 32 percent plan to expand in coming months, while 61 percent did not predict any change in their workforce size.
Another 5 percent of those surveyed planned to cut jobs, leaving a potential net employment growth of 27 percent for the third quarter.
Job seekers may find luck in the province of Heredia, north of San José, where the employee pool is expected to expand by 35 percent. On the contrary, employers in Puntarenas and Limón provinces only foresee 2 percent job growth – the worst rate for those regions since Manpower started its surveys in late 2006.
The manufacturing sector promised the largest growth, with a 38 percent increase, Manpower reported. That number is weaker than last quarter, when the sector predicted 45 percent expansion.
