Formal employment declines in Venezuela

Despite data recorded by the National Institute of Statistics (INE), Venezuela's employment rate slumped in the first half of 2012 compared to 2011, according to a report compiled by the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the International Labor Organization (ILO).

In the joint ECLAC-ILO report entitled "The Employment Situation in Latin America and the Caribbean," Venezuela ranks among the nations reporting a clear deceleration in the generation of jobs in general and, more specifically, in the formal sector.

Nevertheless, the report shows a slight trend towards more favorable results as it outlines that although the inter-annual variation of Venezuela's employment rate has been negative in the first two quarters of 2012, said rate was lower in the second quarter (0.1 percentage points) than in the first quarter (0.6 percentage points).

In general terms, the generation of employment concentrates in the tertiary sector.

In the case of Venezuela, the generation of jobs was directly related to communal, social, and personal services.

Translated by Jhean Cabrera