Dominican Republic posts sluggish employment rate

Santo Domingo.- The average employment rate in the country continues to be below pre-pandemic levels, according to data from a new survey by the World Bank and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) published yesterday.

The series of High Frequency Telephone Surveys, the second phase of which was implemented this year in 24 countries in the region, showed that in the pre-pandemic the employment rate was around 72% in the Dominican Republic and that it is currently around 65%.

The data indicate that the Dominican Republic has a recovery above what the regional average indicates (62%) at present. In addition, the country’s employment rate is above nations such as Honduras, Panama, Uruguay, Costa Rica, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, and Brazil.

At the local level, the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic (BCRD), in its quarterly report July-September 2021, explains that, during the three quarters of 2021, the Dominican labor market has shown important signs of recovery, but hasn’t reached the pre-pandemic level.