The indicator rose to 58.9% in December, while the unemployment rate fell to 7.8%, according to the latest data from the INE.
The rate of employment In the month of December it rose to 58.9% and is its highest record since the end of 2016, as reported today by the National Institute of Statistics (INE), when publishing labor market data.
At the same time, the rate of unemployment fell to 7.8%. In this way, the labor market closes with an advance in the year 2023. According to the estimate of the INE, At the end of last year there were almost 1 million 724 thousand employed workers and 146 thousand unemployed.
The improvement in labor market data recorded in recent months coincides with the increase in real salary and therefore in local consumption, while the new tourist season began in December.
Despite Uruguay has become more expensive compared to other countries, in particular Argentina, everything indicates that the greatest consumption and the tourism explain part of the improvement in labor market indicators. Likewise, there is sustained activity in construction, particularly due to investments in new housing projects, mainly in Montevideo and Maldonado.
Informality continues to grow
The increase in the employment It also occurs simultaneously with an increase in levels of informality, that is, employed workers who do not contribute to social security, which reached 22.6% in December. This allows us to deduce that a good part of the new jobs are being generated in the informal sectors of the economy.
He Minister of Labor and Social Security, Pablo Mieres, recognized that – within the framework of a more dynamic labor market – reducing informality is still a pending objective. Before the pandemic, the indicator averaged 25%. It dropped to 22% by 2021 and hit a record low of 19.6% in mid-2023, before rising to current levels.
There is also an increase in the levels of underemployment, that is, workers who are busy but want to work more. 9.8% of active workers are in this situation, according to data from the INE.
Source: Ambito
